It’s the busiest time of the year for East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s bin collection teams, with more waste is generated during Christmas and New Year than at any other period.
Last year the council’s bin crews collected 9,400 tonnes of waste over the festive season – that’s around 2,000 tonnes more than a regular month.
In addition, more than 2,600 tonnes of waste were also taken to the area’s 10 household waste recycling sites in December 2024.
The vast majority of waste – such as Christmas cards, wrapping paper, cardboard boxes – can easily be recycled in the blue bin.
All leftover food can be emptied into your kitchen caddies and tipped into your brown bin where it will be recycled into compost.
Old batteries from toys and Christmas lights can also be recycled over the festive period. Most supermarkets have collection points.
Bin collection days will change slightly over Christmas and New Year. Normal collections will resume from Monday 12 January. Reminders can be sent to you via the ‘East Riding of Yorkshire Council’ phone app or you can view your bin collection days at www.eastriding.gov.uk/bins
Household waste recycling sites are open from 10am to 5pm each day, but will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. They will close at 4pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
- Real Christmas trees can be recycled by placing them next to brown bins on their collection days in January or taken to household waste recycling sites. Please remove all lights and decorations.
- Blue bins can be used to recycle Christmas cards, envelopes, wrapping paper, cardboard and cardboard boxes, plastic tubs and trays, all glass and plastic bottles and jars, cans, tins, aerosols, tin foil, foil trays, books, newspapers, magazines, juice cartons, egg boxes.
Blue bins can take paper-based wrapping paper. If it holds its shape when scrunched then it is paper and can go in the blue bin. Please remove sticky tape where possible. - Brown bins can be used to recycle all cooked and uncooked food waste, including plate scrapings, peelings, meat, turkey and other bird carcasses, meat bones, eggshells, tea bags and small amounts of sauces, creams and soups. Any garden waste can also go in the brown bin.
Free kitchen caddy liners to put your food inside are available from household waste recycling sites, customer service centres, libraries, mobile libraries and leisure centres. - Used coffee pods, both metal and plastic, can be recycled at household waste recycling sites.
- Crisp packets and plastic bags can be recycled in some supermarkets. If not, place in the green bin.
- Polystyrene can’t be recycled, so please place any in your green bin.
- Batteries should never go in any bins, as they can cause fires. Instead, please take them to supermarkets and local shops that have battery recycling collection boxes or to any household waste recycling site.
- Electrical items can be taken to the small electricals skip at household waste recycling sites.
- Broken Christmas lights can be taken to the smallelectricals skip at household waste recycling sites.
- Clothing, shoes and textiles can’t go in your bins, so please take these to local clothing recycling banks or to charity shops.
- Unwanted Christmas gifts can be donated to charity shops or taken to household waste recycling sites to donate them to the Reuse Shop for Dove House Hospice.
