The leaflet, called Stop Waste, Save Wildlife, also highlights twelve steps we can all follow to reduce rubbish and make Wiltshire an even better place to live.

"When we buy and throw away goods we use up natural materials like oil without considering what effect this has on wildlife and our environment," says the Trust's Waste Prevention Manager Eleanor Noel-Johnson.

"Vast areas of rainforest are destroyed by the extraction of oil to make plastics, yet every year in the UK we throw away three million tonnes of plastic even though much of it could be recycled or reused," says Eleanor.

The guide offers tips such as:

• reusing old carrier bags
• refusing to take excess packaging from shops
• taking unwanted items to a charity shops or recycling centres
• buying long-life or refillable goods
• stopping junk mail that comes through the letterbox
• composting garden refuse and kitchen peelings
.
"These are simple steps to take, and if everyone gets into these habits it will make a big difference to Wiltshire and the world's environment," says Eleanor.

You can send for your Stop Waste, Save Wildlife leaflet from the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust by calling 01380 725670.