Age UK, a charity that offers support and guidance to the elderly, has partnered with iconic book and TV series The Wombles to launch its latest donation drive.

By calling on the public to donate their unwanted Christmas gifts to the charity, Age UK and The Wombles will hope to champion sustainability and local environmentalism by encouraging people to think twice about throwing them away.

The Wombles will be working with Age UK across 2023 as it celebrates the 50th anniversary of its television debut on the BBC, and will hope to inspire the UK to emulate the Wimbledon natives by recycling and re-using gifts in a bid to cut festive waste.

The donation drive was launched in response to Age UK research indicating that up to 22.7 million Christmas gifts are sent to landfill in the UK every year, with a staggering 119.5 million ‘missing the mark’ overall.

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“We are thrilled to be able to team up with the much-loved Womble family to raise awareness of the importance of recycling and reusing,” Age UK retail director, Nick Smith said.

“There is a growing consciousness of the downsides of a ‘buy today, throw away tomorrow’ culture, and we hope The Wombles will help spread the word about the benefits of both donating to and shopping in Age UK’s charity shops.

He added: “It can be difficult to know what to do with gifts that will never be used, or that you don’t want, so to help us get started Age UK and The Wombles are calling on everyone to donate any unwanted presents to our charity shops.

“Not only will you be helping to reduce waste, but you will be helping raise much-needed funds so that Age UK can run vital services to support the older people who need us most.”

When donating their unwanted gifts, Age UK is also urging the public to sign up for Gift Aid – which will increase the value of the donation by 25% through government funding.