Plea to recycle wrapping paper, Christmas cards, cardboard, drinks bottles and sweet tins over festive period

Northampton Borough Council is urging people to recycle as much as possible

Seasonal items such as Christmas cards, cardboard, wrapping paper (not foil paper), sweet tins (crushed) and drinks bottles can all be recycled and should be added to recycling boxes, rather than your residual waste.

A council spokesman said there would be no collections on Christmas Day.

"For households that usually have their waste or recycling collected on a Monday, collections will instead take place on Sunday, December 24. Normal collections will resume from Tuesday, December 26.

"All brown bin collections will be suspended between now and January 8 to allow for extra recycling to be collected. This will include the collection of any recycling items that won’t fit into your boxes. These items should be sorted into different waste streams and put into separate clear or white plastic bags placed next to your boxes," he said.

"Large cardboard, if flattened and placed next to your recycling boxes, will also be collected during the two week period starting on December 26. This will be collected separately to your usual recycling, so please leave it out, even after your recycling has been collected," he added.

Real Christmas trees will be collected on your scheduled brown bin or sack collection day, from January 8 for a four-week period. The trees will need to be either placed by your bin, or if you are on a sack collection round, presented to your recycling boxes. After this period please take any trees to the local Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Cllr Mike Hallam, cabinet member for environment, said: “Northampton residents do a great job recycling their waste. We hope that even with the additional waste that Christmas often creates, the continued service of collections will help residents keep up the good work during this busy period.”

Details of waste and recycling collections until June 2018, were sent to households last October, in the form of a calendar. Anyone unsure of their collection dates, can look them up at www.northampton.gov.uk/recycling