Christmas not yet started and already you may be wondering about getting rid of the rubbish?

IN terms of bin collections there will be no collections on Monday 26 December or Monday 2 January so both weeks' pick-ups are all one day later, including Fridays on Saturday. There will, as usual, be no garden waste collections in the festive fortnight. All usual services resume from Monday 9 January onwards. You can also look up all your collection days using My Collection Day on our home page at somersetwaste.gov.uk.

In term of recycling centres. The teams across all 16 sites have been praised by Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Somerton & Frome Sarah Dyke who popped into the Frome site on Christmas Eve.

Christmas service across sites are unchanged except all will be closed 25-26 December and 1 January and Crewkerne is open for an extra day on Tuesday 27 December.

If you are a subscriber to our garden waste service, leave your tree, decoration-free, next to your garden waste bin for collection – as long as it is no taller than 6ft. Collections restart on Monday 9 January. You can check your first 2023 collection using the My Collection Day menu at somersetwaste.gov.uk

If your tree is taller than 6ft, you will need to take to a recycle site as that is too big for the crews and vehicles to handle. Not a subscriber? You will need to take your tree, decoration-free, to a recycle site and put it in the garden waste skip. They will not be collected from the kerbside. Note that trees with a trunk wider than 6 inches cannot be collected or taken to a recycle site.

For a donation, there are now Somerset charity Christmas tree collections covering much of the county. Dorothy House Hospice Care will collect trees from around Frome, Shepton Mallet and nearby. St Margaret's Hospice Care and Children's Hospice South West will collect trees from around Bridgwater, Chard, Glastonbury, Ilminster, Langport, Somerton, Street, Taunton, Wellington, Wells, Yeovil and elsewhere. Click here – just-helping.org.uk – to check if there is a collection from your address and book your tree in now.

Wrapping paper

Foil, plastic or glittery wrapping paper cannot be recycled and has to go into your rubbish.

Any paper wrapping you cannot reuse, remove sticky tape, bows and decorations and put it with the card in your black recycle box. We cannot accept any wrapping paper in a black bag because we cannot see what is inside.

Tubes of Pringles and similar

Pringles cannot be taken in kerbside collections but these and similar "paper containers with metal ends" can be dropped off at 12 recycle sites (all but Castle Cary, Cheddar, Dulverton and Somerton) in the skips for cartons/Tetra Paks.

Foil from mince pies

Scrunch them up and add to your Bright Blue Bag.

Cards and crackers

This year's cut-up Christmas cards can become next year's gift tags. If you need to recycle them, use your black recycle box, but remove glitter and ribbons etc first. Cards can also be taken to any recycle site. For cardboard Christmas crackers, remove glitter and ribbons etc, and add to your black recycle box. To cut waste, look for plastic-free or make-your-own crackers.

Christmas lights

These count as small electrical items. You can leave them in an untied bag alongside your recycle boxes and Bright Blue Bag. Or take them to any recycle site.

Batteries

Recycle them once they are dead, either kerbside in a small, tied – ideally clear – bag, or drop them off at any recycle site.