With people producing more household waste at Christmas than at any other time of the year, Solihull residents are being encouraged to waste less and recycle right over the festive season.
Councillor Ken Hawkins, Solihull Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Infrastructure, said:
“For many, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year and a chance to celebrate with family and friends, but it’s also one of the most wasteful with the UK producing around 30 per cent more waste than at any other time of the year.
“A lot of residents already recycle well and make sure their recycling is clean, dry and empty, but as people have more to put out, we’d like to encourage you to continue to think carefully about what goes in your brown bins.
“For instance, wrapping paper, cards and decorations which have glitter, foil, sticky tape, ribbons or bows are bad for the environment and can’t be recycled. If you have a lot of extra packaging, please break down cardboard so it fits in your brown bin or clear sacks.”
To check what you can and can’t recycle, please visit the Council’s what goes in my container page and find out about other ways of recycling here.
Electrical items, batteries or clothing can be collected through the Council’s free small item collection service.
Real Christmas trees can be cut up and placed in your green wheelie bin, but stumps need to be no larger than 3 inches/7.5cm in diameter. They can also be taken to Bickenhill Household Waste and Recycling Centre for recycling.
For revised Bickenhill Household Waste and Recycling Centre opening times over Christmas and to make a booking, click here.
Due to the Christmas and New Year bank holidays, there will be changes to some collections. Anyone affected by this will receive a Christmas hanger on their bins with details, but you can also check on the Council's Christmas collections page.
Councillor Andy Mackiewicz, Solihull Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Planning, said:
“Whether it’s food or household waste, carefully considering what we use this Christmas will help the environment, but also our wallets.
“There are also many environmentally friendly alternatives we can use over Christmas, for instance, reusing gift bags and using coloured string instead of ribbon. There are even companies that make and supply compostable glitter that isn’t damaging to the environment.
“Just one small change can make a big difference. If we all think more about how our actions impact the environment and how we can carry those positive changes into the new year, we can help to make Solihull more sustainable.”
For more about climate change and sustainability in Solihull, visit Your Future Solihull.