Residents across the capital are being asked to go green and be more sustainable this Christmas.
This follows last year’s fantastic effort when residents helped us recycle 6,795 tonnes of waste – that’s about the same weight as 57,600 Santas – over the festive season!
Edinburgh residents are being urged to buy more responsibly and to avoid waste where possible, by choosing local suppliers and products, asking for pre-loved or home-made gifts and cutting down on food waste.
This Christmas we also want to remind residents to recycle as much of their Christmas waste as possible.
See our guide to cutting down on festive waste and our extensive list of festive recycling tips.
We’re encouraging people to fold up their cardboard neatly before putting it in the correct recycling bin to make sure they leave enough room for all the extra recycling likely to be generated over the festive season.
If there is no room left, we’d encourage you to make an appointment at your nearest recycling centre and take any extra waste there. If that is not possible, fold it up neatly and place it next to your bin on your collection day.
To check what goes where in terms of festive waste please visit our dedicated webpage.
Please note that our recycling centres will be closed on 25 December, 26 December, 1 January and 2 January.
There are no changes to our kerbside waste and recycling collections as Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are on a Sunday this year.
For garden waste there will be the usual festive pause from 19 December to 15 January. After 15 January 2023, we’ll collect your brown bin on your next normal collection day.
On your first January collection you can put Christmas out beside your brown garden waste bin, and we’ll collect it. If it’s over 7ft, please chop it in half and remove the branches. Please also remember to remove any decorations.
We also have a video on how to recycle your Christmas tree on our YouTube channel.
Transport and Enviroment Convener Scot Arthur said:
Whilst we are all looking forward to exchanging gifts and spending time with friends and family over the festive period, we are all responsible for helping out and cutting down on our own waste.
Simple things like gifting time or experiences, buying gifts from second hand shops, and remembering to recycle responsibly, are just some of the ways we can all play our part in reducing our waste this festive season.
I would encourage everyone to consult our Green Christmas Guide and find out more about what you can do to help Edinburgh be more sustainable at this time of year.