As the holiday season approaches, North Devon Council is advising residents to be aware of alterations to waste and recycling collection schedules. The changes will be in effect from Monday 25 December to Friday, 5 January with normal services resuming on Monday, 8 January 2024.

Residents are urged to visit the council's website for updated information on revised collection days to ensure they don't miss out. As well as this, residents are being reminded that there will be no garden waste collections for two weeks starting, Monday 25 December.

Reminders of the do’s and don’ts of the council’s recycling service:

DO

• Display your bin, box, or bag by 6am on the morning or evening before your collection.
• Flatten cardboard boxes and place them in brown bags. Overflowing cardboard can be taken to your local recycling centre.
• Remove non-recyclable plastic film inserts from cardboard.
• Scrunch up tin foil, including mince pie foil cases, and recycle in your black or green recycling box.
• Wash and squash plastic bottles and drink cans. Place the lid back on the bottle or inside it.
• Use brown paper as a recyclable alternative to wrapping paper. Remove tape for recycling in your brown bag.
• Reuse leftover food where possible. Food waste should go in your kerbside caddy.
• Separate glass from other recyclables and place it in your blue box.
• Dispose of real Christmas trees with a trunk of 5cm or less in your green wheelie bin (with permit). Larger trees are accepted at local recycling centres.

DON'T

• Put non-recyclable items like black plastic or mixed-material items, such as crisp tubes or tetra packs, in your recycling. Black plastic and mixed materials cannot be recycled as part of your kerbside collections due to our machinery being able to unable to separate the different materials. Use special collection banks at your local recycling centre instead.
• Include shiny or glittery (includes biodegradable glitter) Christmas cards and wrapping paper in your recycling bags. Unfortunately, they cannot be recycled in your kerbside collections or at your local recycling centre due to them often being dyed, laminated and/or containing non-paper additives.
• Recycle greasy pizza boxes; dispose of them in your black bin. Paper and card don't get heated during the recycling process which means the grease combines with the pulp, which can ruin the batch.
• Include carrier bags, cling film, or plastic film in the recycling box. Some plastic films can be recycled at supermarkets or local recycling centres.
• Place batteries or vapes in your kerbside collection. This is due to fire safety concerns in our recycling halls. Please use recycling points at supermarkets or local recycling centres instead.

Lead Member for Refuse and Recycling at North Devon Council, Councillor Julie Hunt, says: "As the holiday spirit brings increased waste, it's crucial to dispose of it correctly, embracing the spirit of recycling, reducing and reusing whenever possible. For guidance on sorting items into the right bin, box or bag, please visit our website. To ensure you're collected, please remember to present your bins by 6am on the morning or evening before your festive scheduled collection. I hope everyone has a joyous Christmas and a happy New Year!"

Council offices and telephone lines will be closed from 1pm on Friday 22 December and re-open on Tuesday, 2 January 2024. Whilst closed, information about all council services can be found on their website.

Full information about which items go in the bin, box or bag can also be found on the council's website. 

If you're looking to recycle a specific item, you can visit the council's helpful A-Z recycling guide.