The UK produces nearly 300 million tonnes of waste each year. It's estimated that every Christmas tree bought in the UK in a year put end to end would make a line equivalent to a return trip to New York City. The UK also bought enough wrapping paper to go round the equator nine times. business/christmas-waste-green- recycling Your gift-wrap challenge

According to Friends of the Earth, in 2004 we sent around 744 million cards in the UK. Where do you think they ended up?

What can we do differently?

Once Christmas is over you can reuse the cards as gift tags for next year, or recycle them. The Woodland Trust will have collection boxes as part of its annual recycling scheme. Last year it collected 82 million cards across the UK.

We could also make our own gift wrap out of materials we have already at home. Your challenge is to design your own gift wrap for your chocolate lollipop using the materials we have in class today.

Your gift-wrap challenge Make sure: The lolly stays clean and protected. The wrapping suits the person who’s getting the gift. It looks gorgeous. Be creative!