Christmas bin collections
There are no recycling and general rubbish collections on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Use the bin collection day search to find out when your bin will be collected.
Please ensure bins are put out by 6.30am as collections may be earlier over the festive period.
- Normal collection day Friday 25 December – revised collection day Sunday 27 December
- Normal collection day Friday 1 January 2021 – revised collection day Saturday 2 January 2021
Household waste and recycling centres
All household waste and recycling centres are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. They will be open as usual throughout the rest of the festive period where real Christmas trees can be composted with garden waste. Read more about what can and cannot be recycled this Christmas.
Please remember you now need to book a slot to visit your local household waste and recycling centre to dispose of items. If you turn up without booking you will not be allowed to enter the site.
Reduce your waste this Christmas
Christmas trees
To dispose of a real tree, book a slot and take it to one of our household recycling centres where it will be composted with garden waste.
Handy tip – wrap the tree in an old bed sheet to stop the needles falling in the car. Keep hold of the sheet as you drop the tree into the garden waste container.
Polystyrene packaging
The polystyrene type found protecting new electrical items or the small polystyrene chips often found in boxes sent through the post, should not be placed in your recycling as it cannot be recycled at recycling centre EnviroSort. Please put polystyrene in your normal black bin or rubbish sack.
Handy tip – try to reuse it – it makes great drainage material for your patio pots.
Wrapping paper and cardboard boxes
In the UK, we bin around 300,000 tonnes of Christmas packaging each year.
Disposing of your wrapping paper
- Make sure you remove ribbons and bows from paper before recycling. Don’t worry about removing the sticky tape
- We can only recycle certain types of wrapping paper – good quality paper that is bright white on the non-printed side
- We cannot recycle metallic paper that cannot easily be ripped, as this often contains plastic
Handy tip – if the paper tears easily, we can recycle it.
Disposing of your cardboard boxes
- Please break them up and put inside your green recycling bin or clear sacks
- For very large boxes either take them to a household recycling centre or break them down to the same size as your recycling bin, flatten and leave next to your recycling bin on collection day
Christmas cards
- Create Christmas decorations ready for next year
- Cut out the picture on the front and turn into a gift card for next year
- Recycle them – put them in your green recycling bin or sacks
Food
As the festive season gets into full swing, try something new with your leftovers. We’ve got some tips, tricks and inspiration to help you transform yesterday’s Christmas excess into tomorrow’s meals.
- Meal plan – Think about the meals that your family enjoys most and make a meal plan for the week. Write down the ingredients you need for each meal on a list. Sticking to your list when you go shopping will also help you save money
- Left overs and ingredients – View today’s leftovers as tomorrow’s ingredients with a bit of creative thinking. A couple of sausages could be made into a pasta bake or toad in the hole, cooked vegetables can be made into bubble and squeak. The possibilities are endless – all you need to do is add imagination. For recipe ideas visit Love Food Hate Waste
- Love your freezer – Anything freezable (meat, fish and vegetables) can be frozen right up to the use by date. If you cook in bulk, then freeze, you’ll be well on the way – cooking once and eating twice is a great way to make your money go further. Don’t forget to split up your offerings into portions before you freeze to make them quick and easy to defrost and heat up when you need a quick meal
