Are Sainsbury's recycling Christmas cards this year?
No, Sainsbury's doesn't appear to be running a dedicated, large-scale Christmas card recycling scheme in their stores for the 2025/2026 season, unlike past years supporting the Forest Stewardship Council, with focus shifting to local council collections for plain paper/card recycling. You should now put most paper Christmas cards into your regular household recycling bin or take them to your local recycling centre, removing glitter, ribbons, or plastic elements first.
You can recycle paper-based Christmas and envelopes. Therefore, most traditional Christmas cards are recyclable, and you can put them in your household recycling bin or take them to local recycling points (such as a nearby household waste recycling centre or some supermarkets).
Christmas cards: Cards without glitter or embellishments can be recycled. Wrapping paper: Plain wrapping paper without glitter or foil can be recycled. Do the scrunch test: if it stays scrunched, it's good to go!
Tesco extra superstores along with WHS stores provide collection boxes for your used Christmas cards. Be innovative! Turn last years Christmas cards into this years gift tags. Try to cut down on the amount of cards you send.
M&S used to run a major Christmas card recycling scheme with the Woodland Trust where they planted a tree for every 1,000 cards collected in-store, but that specific program ended around 2020; now, M&S focuses on sustainable, plastic-free cards and supports tree planting through their Sparks loyalty program (1p per transaction) rather than direct card recycling bins, though you can still recycle many cards in your kerbside bin if they're free of glitter, foil, and plastic, notes Marks & Spencer corporate blog https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/newsroom/blog/ms-christmas-card-recycling-scheme, The Woodland Trust blog https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/12/christmas-waste-recycling/, Wheelie Bin Solutions https://wheeliebinsolutions.co.uk/blogs/recycling/can-christmas-cards-be-recycled, and Marks & Spencer corporate blog https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/newsroom/blog/ms-christmas-card-recycling-scheme.
Do greeting cards go in paper or cardboard recycling?
You can recycle most greetings cards, along with their envelopes, as they are usually made from paper. However, if they are covered in glitter, foil, bows or made from photo paper you can't recycle these the usual way via local authority household kerbside collections.
Paper-based cards and their envelopes can be recycled either through your home recycling or at your local recycling point. Sadly, extra decorations like gems, glitter or ribbon can't be recycled, so you'll need to tear those parts off the card and bin them. The same goes for gift tags and crackers, too.
Where can I donate unused Christmas cards in the UK?
You can donate unused Christmas cards in the UK to charities like the Macular Society, who partner with Elle Media Group for recycling (sending to Basildon), or Community Cards (Huddersfield) for crafting new cards to support The Welcome Centre, plus local groups or schools often collect them for crafts; check M&S, Tesco, or WHSmith for large store recycling bins (supporting Woodland Trust/FSC).
The Sainsburys scheme supports the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). A cash donation is made to the FSC based on the volume of cards received. Last year the FSC received a 10,000 donation from Sainsburys. Tesco: Tesco are providing a kerbside collection for service for Christmas Cards to make the process even easier.
The supermarket chain told Newsround it offered recycling for plastic at all of its stores and it was still committed to helping customers in their "efforts to help the planet" but it wanted to "avoid duplicating the recycling services offered by local councils".
Soft plastics, plastic films, plastic bags and wrapping, flexible plastics – whatever you call them; these can now be recycled at your local supermarket.
Birthday cards that are covered in glitter or made from photo paper cannot be recycled. If the card has a battery in it, like one that sings, the battery needs to be removed before recycling. However, if the card has a sticker on it, that's okay to keep on the card.
Yes, most toothpaste tubes are now recyclable, often in your home recycling bin (with lids on) or through specific take-back programs like TerraCycle, as manufacturers shift to mono-material plastics, but always check local guidelines as some older tubes or pump-top dispensers might still need to be put in general waste. Squeeze them empty first, and if unsure, look for the recycling symbol or use a specialized drop-off point.
Ziploc® Paper Bags are recyclable through standard municipal recycling collection (i.e., blue bin). Look for the How2Recycle® label on your Ziploc® packaging for more details.
Plastic waste is one of many types of wastes that take too long to decompose. Normally, plastic items can take up to 1000 years to decompose in landfills.
