For the majority of Edinburgh households there will be no change to collection dates for green wheelie bins, food waste bins and red and blue boxes over the festive period, but there will be no collections on Christmas Day (Wednesday 25 December) or New Year’s Day (Wednesday 1 January).
Collections for households whose bins or recycling boxes were due to be picked up on these dates have been rescheduled for Saturday 28 December and Saturday 4 January respectively.
Residents are reminded that bins and boxes must be on the kerbside by 6am ready for collection.
There will be no special uplifts between Tuesday 24 December and Tuesday 7 January. Normal service will resume on Tuesday 7 January.
Christmas Tree recycling
Residents will once again be able to recycle their real Christmas trees at the kerbside this year, no matter where they live.
Those with a brown bin or who live in a brown bin area should place their Christmas tree beside their bin at the kerbside by 6am on their next garden waste collection day (collection days can be checked by entering an address or by postcode at www.greenboxday.co.uk).
Residents in non-brown bin areas can place their tree beside their communal rubbish bin on designated collection dates during January – check our website (www.edinburgh.gov.uk/recycle) or call 0131 529 3030 to see when we are collecting in your area.
To enable trees to be recycled, residents are reminded:
– To remove all decorations from the Christmas tree
– To remove stands from trees
– To please cut the tree in half if it is 6ft tall or more
– Not to place trees in plastic bags, as this means we cannot recycle them
Christmas trees can also be recycled at any of Edinburgh’s three Community Recycling Centres. Please note these will be closed to the public on 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Environment Convener, said: “I’m delighted that thanks to all staff working together to deliver the service, we’ve been able to put in place very clear collection arrangements, with only two days without scheduled collections in the whole festive period. I’m sure residents are as pleased as I am that this has been made possible this year.
“Whether they put it on the kerbside next to their brown bin, take it to a Community Recycling Centre or leave it out for collection beside communal bins on the designated day, people can ensure that their real Christmas tree is recycled once the festive season is over.
“Much of the rubbish we produce at this time of year is recyclable, like cardboard and wrapping paper, so please take advantage of our recycling facilities as much as you can.
“Remember to check our website over the festive period for any possible changes to collections if the weather is bad.”
Waste and recycling collections may be subject to change in the event of severe weather. For more information on what to do if services are disrupted due to bad weather, visit the city council’s severe weather pages.
For further information, residents can visit Recycling and collections or phone 0131 529 3030.
Calendars for 2014 collections now online
Calendars are now online for 2014 domestic waste and recycling collections. Collection days are the same as in 2013. As well as accessing the information online, residents can order a copy by phone on 0131 529 3030.
Red and blue collection days – which are also staying the same – can be checked at www.greenboxday.co.uk.
