Nottinghamshire County Council and Veolia are running a competition to engage the county’s youngest residents with recycling and waste minimisation.

Budding artists aged 5-11 across the county have been tasked with creating a colourful Christmas-themed A4 poster full of ideas on reducing waste, reusing items and recycling right during the Christmas period.

Poster ideas for the competition could represent reducing, reusing or recycling waste, such as:

• A scene showing Father Christmas buying loose vegetables for his Christmas dinner to reduce packaging and food waste

• Elves shopping for Christmas jumpers at a charity shop

• Christmas tree decorations made from recycled materials.

Entries will be judged in three age categories – 5-7, 8-9, and 10-11 years. Winners from each category will receive a family ticket to see Peter Pan at Nottingham Theatre Royal.

The competition is open for submissions until 11:59 pm on Tuesday, 10th December with winners announced during the week of 16th December.

To take part in the competition, children can submit a photo of their A4-sized posters through the online form at www.nottinghamshire.veolia.co.uk/xmasposter. Alternatively, entries can be posted to Veolia, Mansfield MRF, Warren Way, Crown Farm Industrial Park, Forest Town, Mansfield, NG19 0FL, with the child’s name, age, school, and contact details on the back.

Coun Neil Clarke, cabinet member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council said: “Over the festive period, as a nation, we produce roughly 30% more waste than during the rest of the year.

“We are hoping that our competition will help to raise awareness of the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling as much as we can over Christmas, and indeed for the rest of the year. We can’t wait to see what creative ideas the children come up with to help us all do our bit during the festivities.”

Steve Newman, general manager at Veolia Nottinghamshire, added: “Beyond delivering essential recycling and waste services in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council, we’re proud to support the community in their environmental efforts.

“We’re eager to see the eco-friendly ideas of these talented artists come to life, showcasing how even our youngest residents can contribute to a more sustainable future.”

For more information about the competition, including full terms and conditions, go to www.nottinghamshire.veolia.co.uk/xmasposter