People across Bath are being reminded about upcoming temporary changes to recycling and rubbish collection dates over the Christmas and New Year period.
Image © B&NES Council
Bath & North East Somerset Council has posted leaflets to every household advising them of changes to collection dates and key recycling information.
Changes will affect collections which would normally be scheduled from Wednesday 25th December to Saturday 11th January.
A calendar with the revised dates is available to download from the council website here.
Garden waste collections have been paused over the winter period and restart from Sunday 12th January. Garden waste can instead be taken to local recycling centres during opening hours.
Dorothy House is once again offering a Christmas tree collection for residents living in BA1, BA2, BA3 and BS31 for a donation to their charity.
Alternatively, trees can be taken to recycling centres or booked in for collection on garden waste collection days from13th January to 14th February.
Collections by Dorothy House or the council can be booked in advance on the council website.
Trees that have not been booked for collection and left out at the front edge of the property will not be collected.
When recycling Christmas trees, either at recycling centres or by pre-booked collections, all decorations must be removed and the tree should be cut in half, to less than 1.2m tall
On average the council collects 24% more rubbish and recycling over Christmas week than at any other time of year.
Residents are being urged to recycle as much as possible and to avoid creating waste in the first place by using sustainable alternatives.
You can line your kitchen food caddy with newspaper, compostable bags or any bag you already have available, including unwanted plastic bags, bread bin bags, salad bags or pedal bin liners. The recycling treatment process will remove all liners before the composting process begins.
Only plain brown wrapping paper will be accepted in recycling. Even though some wrapping papers state they are recyclable, they often contain non-paper additives such as glitter.
Councillor Tim Ball, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said: “Christmas and New Year is an especially busy time for our crews because of the increased amount of rubbish and recycling – particularly food waste – that they need to collect.
“Please remember to wash, squash and sort the materials before you put them in your green boxes to prevent contamination and ensure high quality recycling.
“It will also help the crews to collect quickly and keep their vehicle moving to reduce traffic congestion in your road.”
The council’s recycling centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. The reuse shop in Keynsham recycling centre will close at 3.30pm on Friday 20th December and will reopen at 9.30am on Saturday 4th January.
Donations during this period will be suspended and residents are asked not to leave items outside the shop when it is closed.
