South Norfolk Christmas bin collections and recycling
Collection days for rubbish, recycling and food bins over the Christmas period.
| Normal collection day | Revised collection day |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 22 December | Tuesday 22 December (no change) |
| Wednesday 23 December | Wednesday 23 December (no change) |
| Thursday 24 December | Thursday 24 December (no change) |
| Friday 25 December | Tuesday 29 December (4 days later) |
| Tuesday 29 December | Wednesday 30 December (1 day later) |
| Wednesday 30 December | Thursday 31 December (1 day later) |
| Thursday 31 December | Saturday 2 January (2 days later) |
| Friday 1 January | Monday 4 January (3 days later) |
Christmas recycling tips
| Item | Please DO | Please DON'T |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas cards and envelopes | Do recycle if made of paper. | Don’t recycle if covered in glitter or foil. Dispose of these in your rubbish bin. |
| Wrapping paper | Do remove all tags, bows, ribbons and Sellotape and try the ‘scrunch test’. If it stays in a ball once scrunched it can go into your recycling bin. | Don’t put it in recycling if it doesn’t stay scrunched, pop it in your rubbish bin. If it’s glittery or has foil on it, it can’t be recycled. |
| Advent calendars | Do read the recycling symbols on your calendar, separate out all parts, then recycle the outer cardboard box, and all paper and recyclable plastic elements. | Don’t put the plastic film your advent calendar is wrapped in, in the recycling bin, put this in your rubbish bin. If there is any bubble wrap, please put this in your rubbish bin also. |
| Christmas crackers | Do separate your crackers out once you’ve used them. Any cardboard and paper can be recycled if they don’t have glitter or foil on them. | Don’t put other items in the recycling bin, such as plastics, ribbons, any foil or glittery card, these need to go in your rubbish bin. |
| Food and takeaway plastic and foil containers | Do rinse any plastic food trays, pots, and foil containers, make sure they are dry and put them in your recycling bin. | Don’t put dirty, food-stained containers in the recycling bin. |
| Glass bottles and jars for drinks | Do rinse glass bottles and jars, make sure they are dry, put the lids on, and put them in your recycling bin or take it to the nearest glass bank. | Don’t put wine or drinking glasses, or broken glass into recycling. It should be carefully wrapped and placed in your rubbish bin or taken to your nearest recycling centre. |
| Foil | Do rinse or wipe off any crumbs or food residue from the foil. Scrunch clean kitchen foil, chocolate foil, aluminium pot lids and sparkling wine foil together to form a golf ball - the bigger the better, making it easier to recycle. | Don’t put dirty, food-stained foils in the recycling bin. No foil pouches or sweet wrappers. |
| Electrical items and batteries, Christmas lights | Do take old electricals and batteries to a recycling centre or to shops that have a battery recycling point. Book a free kerbside collection of small electrical items. | Don’t put any electrical items or batteries in your rubbish or recycling bin. This can cause fires. |
| Old Christmas jumpers, textiles and shoes | Do put unwanted clothes and shoes in textile or shoe banks or drop them off at your nearest recycling centre. Charity shops will be happy to receive clothes, shoes and textiles in good condition. | Don’t put old clothes, shoes and textiles in your recycling bin. |
| Real Christmas trees | Do put your real Christmas tree in your garden waste bin if branches are no more than 4 inches in diameter. Cut it up and put it inside your garden bin. Please make sure the bin lid is closed. Alternatively, you can take it to your nearest recycling centre. | Don’t put your Christmas tree in your rubbish or recycling bin. |
| Christmas bathroom gift sets | Do recycle all perfume, aerosol, bubble bath bottles, hand soap bottles and jars. Also any cardboard or plastic packaging they are in can be recycled. | Don't place any soft plastic wrapping or pouches in your recycling bin. |
Useful links
Use the Recycle Now locator to:
- see your nearest places to recycle
- find out how to recycle a specific item
- check what you can recycle at home
Visit Recycle your electricals to find out where to recycle and donate electrical items.
For hints and tips on how to reduce food waste this festive period visit Food Savvy and Love Food Hate Waste.
Bin FAQs
The crews where they can, will take excess recycling waste. Extra cardboard and paper can be put by the recycling bin in a box. Excess recycling must be dry, clean, not bagged and must be able to fit into the bin. If it rains or snows, and the excess recycling is cardboard, or in a cardboard box and gets wet, then it won’t be taken.
Glass bottles or jars are not accepted as side waste.
* If there is more recycling than you can manage this Christmas, take it down to your local recycling centre, by Norfolk County Council.
For any recycling centre queries, contact Norfolk County Council Customer Service on 0344 800 8020.
For excess glass bottles and jars, textiles and paper - please take to your nearest mini recycling centre.
Freezing temperatures may cause your rubbish to stick to the inside of your waste bins. Crews will try their best to remove this, however should the material not come out, crews will leave a tag explaining that they have tried to empty the bin. We are unable to return in these circumstances, but will attempt to empty the bin again on the next scheduled collection. During cold weather you can take a few simple measures to reduce the risk of your bin becoming frozen:
- if you have lots of garden waste do not compress it into your bin as this leads to a greater chance of freezing
- store your bin in a warmer spot or close to a wall (or if possible, storing in a garage or shed) and then putting it out on the morning of collection by 6:30am
- loosen the contents by sliding a spade, or similar, between the contents and the inside of the bin on the morning of collection
- do not put liquid into your garden waste bin
We advise not to pour hot water over your bin lids as this can make the problem worse if it refreezes.