With the festive season well on its way, Waverley Borough Council is reminding residents that it’s not only their turkeys that need stuffing but also their recycling bins! We have put together some tips on what to recycle and where.
Please note, there will be changes to your bin collections over the Christmas period. Collections up to and including the 22 December 2023 will stay the same. From the 25 December, the collection will be two days behind (Monday collection will happen Wednesday, Tuesday collection will happen Thursday). Normal collections will resume from 8 January 2024. You can find a table of our Christmas collection dates on our website at Waverley Borough Council - Christmas and New Year bin collections 🎄
Christmas trees
You can, once again, recycle your real Christmas tree (if you can’t replant it) at one of our Christmas tree drop-off points from 27 December 2023 up to 19 January 2024. The sites can be found at:
- Woolmer Hill Sports ground
- High Lane Recreation ground
- Village Way Car Park, Cranleigh (by basketball hoop)
- Haslemere Recreation ground
- Holloway Hill Recreation ground
- Nursery Road Car Park, Broadwater Park
- Wrecclesham Recreation ground
- Rowledge Recreation ground
- Weybourne Recreation ground
- Farnham Park
Or, you can drop it off at one of the community recycling centres in Waverley – to find locations, visit Recycling sites | Recycle | Bins and recycling | Services | Waverley Borough Council.
Garden waste subscriber? You can put your real tree out with your other garden waste for the first collection after Christmas.
If you have an artificial tree, you can take this to your local community recycling centre – just make sure you remove any decorations, packaging, plastic or metal stands please.
Cards and wrapping paper
Glitter covered and non-paper gift wraps made from foil-based paper that springs back when scrunched cannot be recycled and need to be put in your general rubbish bin. Paper only wrapping paper can be put in your recycling bin as well as greeting cards that do not contain any glitter, foil, plastics or embossing as they are not recyclable. Tear off these sections, as well as any badges and put in your rubbish bin. Please remember, batteries should not be put in your rubbish bin as they are a fire risk when collected with other rubbish. Many shops that sell batteries provide recycling points in-store.
To check which bin your items go in and what you can recycle, you can visit our web page What can I recycle? | Recycle | Bins and recycling | Services | Waverley Borough Council.
Food Waste
For tips on reducing food waste from your festive foodie feasts, along with some useful recipes for leftovers, you can visit Surrey Environment Partnership - Green Santa says let’s recycle more and better! (surreyep.org.uk). If you can’t use your leftovers, you can recycle them in your food waste caddy.
Councillor Steve Williams, Waverley Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Environmental and Sustainability, said:
“The festive season is nearly upon us and with presents being opened, cards sent and food eaten, we need to make sure we recycle as much as we can. Recycling means less waste taken to landfill and your food waste can even be used to create energy; if we can think about reusing and repurposing materials instead of putting them in the recycling bin, that is better still.
“Let’s all have a merry festive season but perhaps make it a New Year resolution to reuse, repurpose and recycle more!”