Xmas recycling

Will my food waste, mixed recycling or rubbish collections change over Christmas and New Year?

This information is for residents who receive a kerbside collection service (bags/small bins) for their mixed recycling, food waste or household rubbish only.

If your regular collection day is a Wednesday, our crews will not collect your waste on Wednesday 25 December 2024. Instead, you will have a special collection on Saturday 28 December 2024.

There are no other changes to any other day or bank holiday. All kerbside collections will take place as normal apart from Wednesday 25 December 2024.

Special Saturday collection

If your regular collection day is a Wednesday, our crews will collect your food waste, mixed recycling and rubbish as part of a special catch-up collection on Saturday 28 December 2024.

Please note if your property normally receives two or more rubbish collections a week, you will not receive a special Saturday collection. Please use your other regular collections in the week

Please do not leave your food waste, recycling or rubbish out for collection on Wednesday 25 December.

If you have additional waste, please take it to your nearest on-street micro-recycling centre or rubbish bin:

• Find your nearest micro-recycling centre
• Find your nearest neighbourhood food waste bin

How do I recycle my real Christmas tree in Westminster?

Westminster has over 25 recycling points for real Christmas trees. You can take your tree to a drop-off point from the start of Thursday 26 December 2024 to the end of the day Sunday 19 January 2025.

Opening hours are 8am to 8pm unless they are in parks, which close at 4.30pm.

Please remove all decorations, stands and netting from the tree before bringing it to a recycling point. Only trees taken to recycling points will be recycled and turned into woodchip and soil improver. 

Please use the online map to find your nearest recycling point drop-off location: Christmas Tree drop-off sites.

Tips for a sustainable Christmas

Christmas is a time for celebration, but we can still do our part to reduce our impact on the environment. Here are some tips to make your holidays more sustainable.

Wrapping paper 

• Try cloth wrapping. Use old scraps of fabric or even buy a few scarves from charity shops to wrap gifts. It will be like two gifts in one
• Reuse your wrapping paper and gift bags for another gift. Unwrap gifts carefully to avoid tearing the paper, saving money and time.
• Buy wrapping paper that can be recycled. Please avoid sparkles and glitter and buy recyclable wrapping paper that can be put in your mixed recycling. 

Food 

• Use the whole vegetable: vegetables like carrots, potatoes, broccoli, pumpkin and many more can be eaten in their entirety. No need to throw out parts of the vegetables - cook the whole thing.
• Buy seasonal: buying food that’s in season is more sustainable because it requires less transportation, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.  
• Use your food waste recycling service: pick up your free liners from your nearest library and recycle any food that cannot be eaten, frozen or reused.