Christmas waste collections
All bin collections will be carried out over the Christmas period – all residents will receive their black, green and blue bin collections. The only change to regular bin collections is collections usually carried out on Boxing Day, Monday 26 December will be collected on Christmas Eve, Saturday 24 December. All other collections will be carried out on the usual days.
If you do have extra recycling leftover, you can put cardboard next to your green bin, extra paper recycling and extra glass recycling can go in boxes next to the green bin – please don’t mix up the paper and glass.
No extra black waste bags will be collected.
Artificial Christmas trees that are made from a combination of materials cannot be recycled. Unwanted artificial trees in good condition may be accepted by charity shops to sell or could be repurposed as wreaths and other decorations. If the tree is made only of plastic it can be taken to the nearest household recycling centre where it can be put into the plastic recycling container, where it can be recycled without going into landfill.
'Real' Christmas trees are recyclable - unwanted trees can go in your brown bin, just remember to cut it to fit and to remove all tinsel and decorations as well as pots or stands.
In January, St Giles Hospice will collect and recycle real Christmas trees in return for a donation as part of their Christmas TreeCycle scheme.
Recycling details
Popular items such as glass bottles, plastic bottles, cans, tins, food, paper and cardboard should be recycled as much as possible.
Old toys, Christmas decorations, wrapping paper, plastic sweet tubs, egg boxes, any black plastics, hard plastics, plastic bags and plastic film should be put in black bin.
Small electrical items can be taken to Newhall Tip or Melbourne Recycling Centre, while real Christmas trees can be cut up and left in the brown bin.
A breakdown of what items go in which bin can be found in our A to Z of Waste or via our ‘which bin to use’ page.
If residents wish to recycle/ dispose of extra household waste, this can be done at the recycling centres, the Derbyshire County Council operated Newhall Tip.
FAQs
| Question | Answer |
| What happens to collection rounds when we have adverse weather conditions (i.e. heavy snow)? |
❄️If you're NOT taking your car out due to the weather, then you will understand why a scheduled collection may be a 'snowgo!' Please leave your bin out and we will collect it at the earliest opportunity. |
| Why can't you recycle black plastics? |
⬛️ Black plastic gets its colour from being dyed with carbon black pigments – and it’s those pigments that will contaminate the acceptable plastics Please dispose of your black plastics in the BLACK BIN. |
| What happens if my collection has been delayed or postponed? |
🚛If your bin has NOT been collected, our refuse crew will return within TWO working days. Please leave your bin out. |
| Why can't you take egg boxes? |
🥚 We are unable to take EGG BOXES due to the various types of material they are made from - which could contaminate the rest of the materials. The low-grade paper fibre material (which causes processing issues) CAN NOT be recycled by our current contractors. Please dispose of them in your BLACK BIN. |
| Why can't you take pizza boxes? |
🍕We are unable to take PIZZA BOXES as cardboard recycling as they contain grease and food remnants which will contaminate the rest of the recyclable card and paper. Please dispose of them in your BLACK BIN. |
| Where can I dispose of Christmas cards? |
✨Christmas cards CANNOT be recycled due to the contamination caused by sticky tape, glitter and glue. Many supermarkets have Christmas card recycling points.You could #upcycle them and use them as gift tags for next year, or dispose of them in your black bin. |
| What should I do with extra black bin rubbish? |
👉Additional side refuse can be disposed of at The Household Recycling Centre, Main Street, Newhall, DE11 0TP. It's open EVERYDAY apart from Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. |
| I haven't receivd my collection calendar yet, what should I do? |
📞 If you have NOT received your bin collection calendar, you can: ▪️ Request one by calling ▪️ Request an electronic version by e-mailing waste.cleansing@southderbyshire.gov.uk ▪️ Find your collection online. |
| I forgot to put my bin out, when will it be collected? | 🗓️ Your bin will be emptied on the next scheduled date. |
| How can I ensure my bin is emptied? |
😃For trouble-free bin emptying, please ensure that your bin lid is closed and the correct materials are left in the appropriate caddy or sack. We cannot empty them if lids are not closed. We understand that a few of you have questions about why lids should be closed. Please see below: |