Bath and North East Somerset Council has announced updated bin collection schedules for the Christmas and New Year period. Regular services will be disrupted between Christmas Day and Saturday, January 10.
Councillor Mark Elliot, Cabinet Member for Resources, highlighted the community’s impressive 60% recycling rate for 2024/25 and emphasized the challenges of the holiday season. “During Christmas and New Year, waste volumes typically increase by 30%, making it a busy time for our collection crews,” he said. “To help them work efficiently, we ask residents to wash, squash, and sort their waste before placing it in green recycling boxes. This speeds up collections and helps reduce traffic congestion.”
The council reminds residents that only plain brown wrapping paper is recyclable in the blue cardboard recycling bags. Many festive wrapping papers, even if labeled recyclable, contain non-paper elements like glitter, making them unsuitable for recycling.
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Garden waste collections have been paused and will resume on Monday, January 19. Christmas trees can be collected when garden waste services restart or can be taken to Dorothy House, the local hospice charity, for a small donation.
Recycling centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day. Similarly, the Reuse Shop in Keynsham will be closed from Saturday, December 20 until Saturday, January 3.
Residents are encouraged to check their specific bin collection dates on the council’s website and can arrange Christmas tree collections online.