Residents in Bath and North East Somerset are being reminded of changes to their recycling and rubbish collection dates over the Christmas and New Year period.

The council has posted leaflets to every household advising them of changes to collection dates and key recycling information. Residents can also easily find the information for their postcode on the council’s website.

Changes will affect collections which would normally be scheduled from Wednesday, December 25, to Saturday, January 11.

A calendar with the revised dates is also available to download from the council website at: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/waste/collectionday/

Garden waste collections have been paused over the winter period and will restart from Sunday, January 12.

People are urged to check collection dates on the council website. Garden waste can instead be brought to the council’s 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 the council’s recycling centres or booked in for collection on garden waste collection days from January 13 to February 14.

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

Information on what can be recycled in food bins can also be found on the council’s website and people can line kitchen food caddies with newspaper, compostable bags or 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 the recycling as most Christmas wrapping paper, even those that state they are recyclable, often contain glitter so it cannot be recycled at kerbside.

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, December 20, and will reopen at 9.30am on Saturday, January 4.

Donations during this period will be suspended and residents are asked not to leave items outside the shop when it is closed.