 Thank you for taking part
We are grateful that more than 9,000 residents took the survey and shared their views on potential changes to our rubbish and recycling collections. Thank you for letting us know what you think.
While we are analysing feedback received from this consultation, we want to share with you some initial findings:
67 per cent of respondents like or can accept fortnightly collections
When asked what they think of changing rubbish and recycling collections to fortnightly, while keeping weekly food waste collections, the survey found:
- 24 per cent like it
- 43 per cent can accept it
- 7 per cent are neutral
- 26 per cent don’t support it
70 per cent of respondents don’t support changing to three weekly rubbish collections
When asked what they think of changing the general rubbish collections to every three weeks, recycling every two weeks, and keeping weekly food waste collections, the survey found:
- 70 per cent do not support it
- 6 per cent are neutral
- 15 per cent can accept it
- 9 per cent like the idea
69 per cent of respondents like or can accept wheeled bins
When asked what they thought of having a wheeled bin for their general rubbish instead of using the blue bags, the survey found:
- 44 per cent like it
- 25 per cent can accept it
- 9 per cent are neutral
- 22 per cent don’t support it
No decision has yet been made as to how your rubbish and recycling collections would be changed. All findings, following detailed analysis, will help form a new waste collection strategy that will go before the council’s decision making executive committee in February next year.
 Christmas and New Year bin collections
Our crews will be given a well-deserved rest and time with their families on Boxing Day (Monday 26 December), so your rubbish and recycling collection during that week will be one day later than normal.
Collections on bank holiday (Tuesday 27 December and Monday 2 January) will continue, and our crews will work on Saturday 31 December to catch up. They will start earlier at 5.30am on these days.
Garden waste collections will follow the same schedule.
Normal service will resume from Monday 2 January.
Download the revised collection schedule for your handy reference.
 Recycling tips for festive celebrations
Christmas is the time for reunion, but unfortunately it's probably also the most wasteful time of the year.
We shared in our last issue tips on how to reduce waste and recycle more when you prepare for this festive period. Let's continue this week with some more on what you can do when having Christmas parties or meals with family and friends.
DIY or reusable Christmas crackers
Christmas crackers are an old tradition originated in the UK. You can find them on almost all Christmas dinner tables.
A study has found that us Brits pull 154 millions crackers each Christmas, meaning roughly 2.2 crackers by each of us. If you can make your own crackers or buy reusable ones, you'll help reduce the British average.
You can get make-your-own cracker kits or simply recycle toilet roll tubes and old wrapping paper. It is also not difficult to find a small gift to wrap up in your homemade Christmas crackers, like lip balm, miniature aftershave or even a bar of chocolate.
You will be able to find loads of tutorials on YouTube by searching 'DIY Christmas crackers'.
 Freeze your Christmas food bills
According to Zero Waste Week, over four million Christmas dinners are binned each winter – that’s equivalent to 263,000 turkeys, 7.5 million mince pies, 740,000 portions of Christmas pudding and 11.3 million roast potatoes.
The cost of binning food can add up quickly, both in terms of the money you waste and the damage this has on the environment.
Here are some tips to cut your food bills and reduce food waste this Christmas:
Use a portion calculator
Don't overbuy or cook more than you need! If you want to know how much food you actually need, the food portion calculator is a great place to start. It will tell you how much you’ll need for each food type, in grams as well as other ways of measuring, such as slices or handfuls.
Use your freezer
Increased freezer use can cut food waste by half, saving an average family £250 per year.
Many people throw away food that is close to use-by date without realising they could freeze it and keep it for later. Food Standards Agency advises that it is safe to freeze food right up until the use-by date.
You can freeze most food. This includes raw and cooked meats, fruit, potatoes (after boiling for five minutes), grated cheese, and eggs. Love Food Hate Waste website has an A-Z on food storage including how to freeze many different types of food.
Re-use your leftovers
Check out some creative recipes for reinventing your Christmas leftovers on Love Food Hate Waste website.
To store your leftovers, cool and cover them, and then put them in a fridge or freezer within one to two hours. Splitting leftovers into smaller portions will cool food quicker. It may also be more convenient to defrost portioned meals later.
Recycle or home compost food waste
If you can't finish all leftovers, put them in your food waste bin. We will collect and turn them into fertilizer for farmers' field.
You can also home compost most of your Christmas food waste, such as vegetables and fruit peelings, egg shells, nut shells, tea leaves and coffee grounds. Never compost cooked food, meat or fish.
Home composting can be done all year round, even during winter. It is a straightforward and inexpensive way to avoid sending food waste to landfill, while providing a self-made supply of nutrients to your garden.
Find out how to set up home composting on the Recycle Now website.
If you want to get a compost bin and other accessories, visit the Get Composting website.
 Glass is endlessly recyclable
No Christmas meal is complete without good food and drinks! That also means, you may end up having many empty glass jars and bottles after parties.
Recycling glass jars and bottles has many benefits. Glass is 100 per cent recyclable and can be re-melted to make new glass products again and again, without ever reducing its quality.
Every tonne of glass re-melted saves 246 kg of carbon dioxide emissions as well as reducing the energy needed to make glass and reliance on raw materials.
All coloured glass bottles and jars are accepted
You can take glass jars (like for sauces and jam) ands bottles (like for wine, beer and soft drinks) of any colour to the bottle banks near you. If you are unsure where they are, use the Recycling Locator Tool to find the nearest ones.
Bear in mind that some glass products can't be recycled, such as
- cookware like Pyrex and microwave plates
- drinking glasses, ceramic crockery, earthenware
- vases
- nail varnish bottles
- mirrors
- light bulbs and tubes
Some tips when recycling glass
- Empty your bottles by a quick rinse
- Remove corks but keep lids and caps on
- No need to remove labels
- Don't leave empties on the ground beside the bottle banks, as they may not be picked up and recycled
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