Waste and recycling collections across Bath and North East Somerset will change temporarily over the festive period.

Residents will soon receive a leaflet from Bath & North East Somerset Council advising them of collection dates over Christmas and New Year, along with details about how they can recycle their real Christmas tree.

However, this year, wrapping paper can no longer be collected and the Council is suggesting using a sustainable alternative, to avoid creating unnecessary waste for disposal.

The Council says it is no longer able to accept wrapping paper as part of its recycling collections due to changes in recycling markets. It says it uses UK-based recycling plants so that waste generated in B&NES does not need to be shipped overseas and UK-based paper mills now demand higher quality paper for recycling.

There will be no recycling or rubbish collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, December 28th or New Year’s Day. Garden waste collections will pause from December 7th to January 15th inclusive.

Residents can check the website for full information: bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/waste/collectionday/

Christmas trees can be collected from January 18th after garden waste collections resume, taken to a Recycling Centre or collected by Dorothy House. The charity has a dedicated website for people who live in BA1, BA2, BA3 and BS31 postcodes to arrange for their Christmas tree to be collected by volunteers. Keynsham is a new collection area added for 2021.

The Council’s recycling centres will close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, December 27th and New Year’s Day.

Councillor David Wood, joint cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services and Climate Emergency, said: “A huge amount of waste is generated over the Christmas period and we all need to think about how we can reduce the amount our own household contributes. We need to use our food waste bins, green box and recycling bins as much as we can to recycle everything possible. A way to reduce the amount of waste put into black bins is to avoid buying things that will be thrown away in the first place and to avoid unnecessary packaging and wrapping paper.”

Steph Cox, Community Fundraiser at Dorothy House, said: “This will be our fifth Christmas tree collection and we’re looking forward to helping local people recycle their used Christmas trees, while also raising vital funds for Dorothy House. Last collection we raised more than £42,000 which went a long way to support people in the local community. We couldn’t do this without the generous support of supporters and also to the volunteers who give up their time to collect all of the trees.”

Residents are reminded that if any members of their household have the symptoms of Covid-19, personal waste such as tissues, disposable cleaning cloths, masks, should be double bagged, tied securely and kept separate from other waste for at least 72 hours before being put in their black wheelie bin or re-usable rubbish bag.

Any personal waste put in recycling boxes will not be collected.