Over the festive period we generate about 30% more waste – but did you know you can recycle most of this in your black box (for paper and card), your food caddy and your grey mixed recycling wheelie bin? Cardboard, paper, glass, plastics, tins, cans, foil and Tetrapak cartons – we want them all please. For a reminder of what you can recycle and what should go in each container, pop across to our home refuse and recycling webpage. And if our recycling service hasn’t reached you yet, our recycling banks across the borough can take a wide range of items, including clothes and other textiles in any condition. 

Give your food caddy a good stuffing

Many of us admit to throwing away more food at Christmas than at any other time of the year. So if you find you have raw, uncooked or leftover food that you can’t use, please put it in your food caddy so we can recycle it.

But before you throw any food away, is there a way you could use it? The Love Food Hate Waste website is packed full of food tips to help you through the big day, make the most of any leftovers and avoid eating turkey sandwiches for six days in a row. 

What to do with that Christmas tree?

Once Christmas is over, are you left with a (real) Christmas tree you don’t know what to do with? If you’re a member of our garden waste service we will collect your tree – just leave it out in or next to your garden waste bin on your usual collection day. But please remove any decorations or pots first.

If you’re not a member, you can take your old Christmas tree to your local Surrey County Council community recycling centres near you.

Thank you

We would like to thank you for rethinking your rubbish and recycling more. We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year. And please don’t forget that some of your recycling and refuse collection days will change over the festive period. Our bank holiday collections webpage has more details.