Waste less this Christmas

Please see below our top tips for reducing, reusing and recycling over the Christmas period.

12 Tips of Christmas

From gift wrap to leftovers, the choices we make can have a big impact on our environment. That's why we've put together 12 practical tips to help you Reduce, Reuse and Recycle this Christmas. Whether it's cutting down on unnecessary packaging, finding creative ways to reuse decorations, or recycling right, these tips will help you celebrate sustainably without losing any of the magic.

Reduce

Plan festive meals carefully to avoid food waste. Freeze leftovers and turn spare ingredients into tasty dishes like bubble and squeak using the 'Ultimate Guide to Christmas Food Planning'.
Give experiences, not things. Consider vouchers, memberships, or homemade gifts.
Choose quality over quantity. Fewer, thoughtful gifts reduce clutter and waste.
Avoid single use wrapping. Use fabric wraps, reusable gift bags, or decorated newspaper.
Switch to LED Christmas lights. They use less energy and last longer.

Reuse

Save gift bags, boxes, and ribbons for next year. Start a reuse stash.
Upcycle old decorations. Broken baubles can become wreaths or ornaments.
Make your own crackers using toilet roll tubes and scrap paper. Fill with jokes and reusable trinkets.
Reuse last year's cards as gift tags or festive bunting.
Borrow or swap party outfits instead of buying new. Check local swap groups or apps.

Recycle

Recycle plastic food pots, tubs and trays. You can now rinse and place these in your green bag.
Use your food waste caddy for food waste including turkey bones, veg peelings, and leftover sprouts.

Food

Reduce - make sure to take a shopping list with you so that you only buy what you need over the festive period. Try using the notes facility on your phone to save paper. Make sure you check the use-by dates so that you eat food in date order. Check your fridge temperature - The Food Standards Agency advises it should be 5 degrees Celsius or below. If you can't eat all your food in time, check to see whether you can freeze the items (visit the love food hate waste website for more hints and tips).

Reuse - leftover vegetables from the Christmas dinner can be made into bubble and squeak or a delicious winter vegetable soup. If you've got a lot of leftovers, avoid throwing them away by sticking them in your freezer after the celebrations.

Recycle - for those leftovers that you can't make use of, please recycle these in the food waste caddy or purple bin. You can put all your food leftovers, raw and cooked, in the caddy, including turkey bones, egg shells and peelings. Food waste is collected every week on the same day as your recycling or rubbish. Food waste is taken to our facility in Padworth to be made into soil conditioner. Or if you have a composter at home, you can compost your own food waste. For more information on home composting, visit our composting webpage.

Christmas trees

If you do not subscribe to the garden waste collection service, some garden centres and charities have special collection arrangements in place such as take-back schemes. Alternatively, Christmas trees can be taken to one of our household waste recycling centres. Please make sure you have a permit and you book an appointment before your visit.

Reduce - if you prefer the tradition of having a real Christmas tree, you can still reduce waste by not buying new decorations every year. Instead, choose decorations wisely and keep them to use again and again.

Reuse - potted trees or Christmas trees with roots that can be planted in the garden are becoming a more popular choice. If you have an artificial tree, they need to be used for up to nine years in order to have less impact than real trees.

Recycle - If you are a subscriber to the garden waste collection service, we will collect your real Christmas tree from the kerbside. Please put it out with your garden waste bin on your recycling day for collection between Tuesday 13 January 2026 until Friday 6 February 2026. Please remember to remove all lights, decorations and pots.

Important: Trees left at the kerbside, without a valid garden waste subscription, will not be collected.

Christmas cards and wrapping paper

We will once again be providing dedicated bins to recycle wrapping paper at both of our recycling centres. Please remember to book online before you visit.

Reduce - why not send e-cards or give gift experiences instead of large gifts this year.

Reuse - Christmas cards from last year can be cut out and used as gift tags. Pinking shears are an excellent investment to make these look shop bought. Wrapping paper can also be reused or gifts can be put into saved gift bags or cardboard boxes. To make it easier to reuse wrapping paper, secure gifts with ribbon or coloured string instead of tape.

Recycle - as long as Christmas cards and wrapping paper aren't covered in glitter, foil or other embellishments they can be recycled in your green box. Please do the 'scrunch test' (see below) to see if your wrapping paper can be recycled.

Cardboard boxes

If you have a lot of large cardboard, this can be taken to either of our household waste recycling centres for recycling. Please book online before you visit. Alternatively, you can take excess waste to a suitable Mini Recycling Centre (MRC). Locate your nearest MRC that accepts card here.

Reduce - try to shop locally, this will reduce the need for lots of deliveries in cardboard boxes.

Reuse - try to reuse the boxes within your home or offer them to friends/family.

Recycle - cardboard can be recycled within your green box (Communal Properties: Blue lid bin). If you run out of space in your green box for card and paper, you can leave cardboard next to it. Just make sure you flatten and fold it to a smaller size (no bigger than 85cm x 45 cm).

If you have a lot of large cardboard this can be taken to either of our household waste recycling centres for recycling. Please book online before you visit. Alternatively, you can take excess waste to a suitable Mini Recycling Centre (MRC). Locate your nearest MRC that accepts card here.

Household batteries

The lead up to Christmas is a frenzy of gift-buying, decorating, and food preparation. Many elements of the Christmas spirit are powered by batteries, from toys/gadgets to Christmas lights/decor to kitchen scales for Christmas baking and cooking. Here are some ideas to help power your Christmas season in an environmentally responsible way.

Reduce - switch to using rechargeable batteries wherever possible or plug electrical equipment into the mains electricity.

Reuse - try to buy appliances that use renewable energy - a wind up radio or torch, dynamo bicycle lights or solar powered garden lights.

Recycle - yes, most household batteries can be recycled from the kerbside. Put your batteries in a clear plastic bag, and simply place them on top of your black wheelie bin on collection day. Our waste collection vehicles have special compartments designed just for these batteries, ensuring they're safely recycled. Please note this service is not available to residents that have a communal bin store.

You can find more information about battery recycling here.

Important: Batteries should never be placed inside your wheelie bin as they pose a significant fire hazard. We cannot collect car/moped batteries, lithium-ion (Li), power tool batteries and vapes these should be taken to our household recycling centres at Newtown Road, Newbury, or Padworth. To schedule a visit, book an appointment online.

Festive clothing

Reduce - do you really need a new Christmas jumper this year?

Reuse - can you swap with a friend/family member or buy second hand clothing.

Recycle - if your Christmas clothing has lost its sparkle then clothes can be recycled at clothing banks across the district or placed out in a labelled bag next to your recycling collection.

Need more recycling capacity

The festive season often generates more recyclables. In West Berkshire, please remember:

glass goes in a green box (communal properties have brown lid bin)
paper and cardboard go in a green box (communal properties have blue lid bin)
plastic bottles, food pots, tubs, trays, aerosols, tins and cans go in a green recycling bag (communal properties have red lid bin)
food waste must always go in a green food caddy (communal properties have purple lid bin)

If you're short on space in your containers, try squeezing the air out of bottles and reattaching the lids to save room. You can also make use of our Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) and Mini Recycling Centres (MRCs) across the district. Please remember to book your appointment at an HWRC here. You don't need to book an appointment to visit an MRC. To find your nearest MRC click here.

Important: Please remove foil and plastic film topping lids and give items a quick rinse. Do not use bin bags for extra recycling.

Collection dates are changing over Christmas

Garden waste collections will not take place from Wednesday 31 December 2025 and will resume from Tuesday 13 January 2026. The garden waste collection vehicles and operatives provide temporary support with the recycling and rubbish collections which usually see an increase in demand over the festive period.

Up to three extra open-topped bags of garden waste will be collected on your first scheduled garden waste collection from Tuesday 13 January 2025. We cannot collect Hippo or tonnage bags.

Please see below for the change of collection days over the Christmas period.

		Revised collection day
Monday 22 December	Will be collected on	No Change
Tuesday 23 December	Will be collected on	No Change
Wednesday 24 December	Will be collected on	No Change
Thursday 25 December	Will be collected on	Monday 29 December
Friday 26 December	Will be collected on	Tuesday 30 December
Monday 29 December	Will be collected on	Wednesday 31 December
Tuesday 30 December	Will be collected on	Friday 2 January
Wednesday 31 December	Will be collected on	Saturday 3 January
Thursday 1 January	Will be collected on	Monday 5 January
Friday 2 January	Will be collected on	Tuesday 6 January
Monday 5 January	Will be collected on	Wednesday 7 January
Tuesday 6 January	Will be collected on	Thursday 8 January
Wednesday 7 January	Will be collected on	Friday 9 January
Thursday 8 January	Will be collected on	Saturday 10 January
Friday 9 January	Will be collected on	Monday 12 January
Monday 12 January	Will be collected on	Tuesday 13 January
Tuesday 13 January	Will be collected on	Wednesday 14 January
Wednesday 14 January	Will be collected on	Thursday 15 January
Thursday 15 January	Will be collected on	Friday 16 January
Friday 16 January	Will be collected on	Saturday 17 January

As we head into the winter months, garden waste and bin lids can freeze shut, making collections more difficult. To ensure collections can be made during cold weather, please help our crews by making sure the lid of the bin is not frozen shut and try to loosen the contents so that it will easily shake out on collection.

Please note that in some areas, especially rural roads that are not gritted, we may be unable to access properties if temperatures remain at freezing. For updates on service disruptions, such as adverse weather, please check the collection updates before reporting a missed collection.

Finally, we would like to wish all our residents a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!