Christmas and New Year rubbish and recycling
Over Christmas and New Year, your usual rubbish, recycling and food waste collection days will be different. Check the table below for your revised collection days:
Christmas rubbish and recycling collection dates 2018/2019
| Usual collection day | Revised collection day |
|---|
| Monday 24 December |
No change |
| Tuesday 25 December |
Thursday 27 December |
| Wednesday 26 December |
Friday 28 December |
| Thursday 27 December |
Saturday 29 December |
| Friday 28 December |
Monday 31 December |
| Monday 31 December |
Wednesday 2 January |
| Tuesday 1 January |
Thursday 3 January |
| Wednesday 2 January |
Friday 4 January |
| Thursday 3 January |
Saturday 5 January |
| Friday 4 January |
Monday 7 January |
| Monday 7 January |
Tuesday 8 January |
| Tuesday 8 January |
Wednesday 9 January |
| Wednesday 9 January |
Thursday 10 January |
| Thursday 10 January |
Friday 11 January |
| Friday 11 January |
Saturday 12 January |
| Monday 14 January |
No change |
Extra rubbish and recycling?
- we will collect up to two extra sacks of rubbish beside your bin on your first rubbish collection after Boxing Day
- we will collect extra recycling that won't fit in your bin if placed in your own boxes, with glass kept in a separate box
- Household Recycling Centres are open from 10am to 4pm daily, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
Garden waste collections over Christmas and New Year
The Garden Waste service is suspended over the Christmas and New Year period, from Tuesday 25 December until Tuesday 8 January.
Recycle more this Christmas
Most of us produce extra waste over the festive period. Using the Recycle for Dorset service, you can recycle the following:
Brown food bin
- cooked and uncooked food waste
Recycling bin (or boxes if you don't use bins)
- wrapping paper (not foil based)
- Christmas cards
- cardboard
- tins and cans
- plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays
Box for glass
- glass bottles and jars (leave metal screw tops on bottles)
Battery bag
Check what you can recycle using the Recycle for Dorset collection service
Recycling your real Christmas tree
The Dorset Waste Partnership no longer collects real Christmas trees at the kerbside.
If you buy a real Christmas tree there are options for what to do once you've finished with it and removed all its decorations:
- if you have a garden waste collection, you can cut your real tree into small pieces and put it in your garden waste bin
- real Christmas trees can be taken to your local Household Recycling Centre and placed in the garden waste container for composting, free of charge
Please note that the following local organisations are running Christmas tree collections to raise money for charity. Slots are limited, so please book early.
Table of Dorset charities collecting Christmas trees
| Charity | Areas covered |
|---|
| Weldmar Hospicecare |
Beaminster, Bridport, Sherborne, Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland. |
| Diverse Abilities |
Blandford, Bournemouth, Poole, Broadstone, Wimborne, Ferndown, Christchurch, Verwood and Charlton Marshall. |
| Employ My Ability |
Gillingham (including 5 mile radius) |
Residents are also being asked to consider more eco-friendly options such as home composting, or buying a rooted tree that can be kept in the garden until next year.
Artificial Christmas trees will also not be collected by the DWP. If you can't keep it to use again, please take your tree to your local Household Recycling Centre.