A BOOST for Winsford's environment is on the cards, thanks to the eco-friendly staff of Cheshire County Council.

Their response to the council's Christmas card recycling scheme is expected to yield a cash windfall that will fund a major tree-planting operation in and around Winsford.

The tree-planting will take place in the Mersey Community Forest, which stretches from Winsford to Ellesmere Port, and as far north as Formby.

Last year, the council's Christmas card recycling scheme raised £15,000, enough to plant around 60,000 saplings in the forest.

This year's appeal, which closed at the end of January, is expected to produce even more cash.

Staff brought their cards for disposal at 37 sites throughout the county.

More than 80 sacks of cards were collected, weighing almost a ton, and these have been sent to a commercial paper-making firm to be pulped.

All the proceeds will go to the Mersey Forest Project, which is aiming to establish a patchwork of woodlands covering around 8,000 hectares, half of which is in Cheshire.

Cty Clr John Clarke, chairman of Cheshire County Council and the recently retired Cheshire vice-chairman of the Mersey Forest Project, is delighted with the success of the card recycling scheme.

He said: "The card recycling scheme is one way in which people can feel they are making some small contribution to the health of our precious environment.

"The community forest concept is not just about tree planting but also about creating awareness of the whole woodland scene, about the need to preserve what we have and to plan for the future.

"We expect many hundreds of thousands of people will come in and see what we are doing for the benefit of future generations."

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