Changes to bin collections this Christmas and New Year

South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge residents are being asked to double-check their bin collection dates during the Christmas and New Year period, and avoid wasting food during the festivities.

Collections of green bins switch from their usual fortnightly collection pattern to monthly collections from 21 December until 1 March 2021.

Bin collections from 25 December through to 10 January will all be at least one day later than usual.

Collections return to their regularly scheduled days from Monday 18 January.

Bin collections across Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire are carried out by the Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service, a partnership between Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

Cllr Brian Milnes, South Cambridgeshire District Council's Lead Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Licensing, said: “Everyone has had a difficult year, but one of the positives has been people reconnecting with nature and thinking about the ways that they can care for both our environment and the people around us. This has been reflected in the support that residents have shown for our staff, and bin collection crews in particular, and in our recycling figures, which have maintained their same trajectory despite the disruption to all our lives this year. I want to say a big thank you to all our residents for continuing to care and for recycling correctly.”

Cllr Rosy Moore, Cambridge City Council's Executive Councillor for Environmental Services and City Centre, added: “Alongside maintaining services throughout the pandemic and keeping both our staff and residents safe, tackling food waste has been one of our key priorities this year. Lockdown forced many of us to adopt new behaviours around food shopping such as; using up leftovers, making shopping lists and meal plans, plus for those lucky people who had flour there was the baking of banana bread. I urge residents to keep up these good habits throughout the Christmas period and to make a resolution to stop wasting food in 2021. We can save ourselves some money and it's one of the most impactful actions we can take as individuals to fight climate change.”

There is further information about waste and recycling including which festive items can be recycled and how, and tailored bin collection calendars.