Residents in Bath and North East Somerset are being thanked for their recycling efforts and reminded to check their Christmas and New Year collection dates.
Image © B&NES Council
A leaflet has been delivered to every household in the district setting out changes to recycling and rubbish collections over the festive period.
It also celebrates the area’s 60% recycling rate for 2024/25, which has helped save 51,000 tonnes of waste, enough to fill Bath Abbey to its vaulted ceiling around 14 times.
Key information in the leaflet includes:
- Changes to collection dates for all households with scheduled collections between 25th December and 10th January. A calendar with revised dates is available to download from the council’s website here.
- Garden waste collections will pause from 7th December and resume on 19th January.
- Recycling centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
- The Reuse Shop will be closed from 21st December to 3rd January.
- Christmas trees can be collected by the council’s garden waste team or, for a small donation, by Dorothy House. Bookings can be made via the council website.
- Only plain brown wrapping paper can go in blue cardboard recycling bags. Even if it is labelled recyclable, Christmas wrapping paper often contains glitter or other non-paper additives that mean it cannot be recycled.
Councillor Mark Elliott, cabinet member for resources, praised residents’ efforts and warned that Christmas and New Year remain a particularly busy time for collection crews, with waste typically rising by 30%.
He said: “To help them collect quickly as they cope with the increased amount of rubbish and recycling, especially food waste, we encourage everyone to wash, squash and sort their waste before putting it in the green recycling boxes.
“That will enable the crews to keep their vehicle moving and reduce traffic congestion in your road.”
