VISITORS to a Hartlepool store are being encouraged to help the environment by recycling their Christmas cards.
Marks & Spencer in Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, Hartlepool, has two large bins for people to drop off their unwanted cards.
They can be found just inside the entrance and shoppers have already taken advantage of them dropping off dozens of cards.
For every 1,000 Christmas cards recycled, the Woodland Trust charity will plant a new tree.
Last year, more than 8,300 trees were planted across the UK thanks to the scheme.
The Christmas card drive is part of Marks & Spencer’s Plan A campaign to make the business more sustainable.
Other initiatives supported by the Hartlepool branch include recycling hangers to help fight poverty with Unicef and charging for carrier bags. Marks & Spencer also now does not send any waste to landfill. The card bins will remain in store for as long as shoppers continue to use them.