Swindon households are being reminded that all waste and recycling collections will move by two working days from Christmas Day, as the Council continues its revised festive schedule introduced last year.
The permanent change, which begins on Thursday, 25 December, is designed to prevent the significant backlog of missed collections that used to build up when Christmas Day and Boxing Day fell on normal collection days. Previously, up to 40,000 collections could be disrupted over the holiday period.
Following the usual pause in services on 25 and 26 December, collections will resume on Monday, 29 December, starting with residents whose normal collection day would have been Christmas Day. Households scheduled for a Friday (Boxing Day) collection will instead be served on Tuesday, 30 December.
From Christmas Day onwards, all residents should present their waste and recycling two working days later than usual. This applies to both services for households whose waste and recycling are collected on different days.
To support the change, every home in the Borough will receive a bin hanger explaining the revised timetable. Residents who use blue bags or receive assisted collections will receive a postcard reminder.
Councillor Chris Watts, Cabinet Member for the Environment and Transport, said the decision has already proved effective.
“Last year’s change to waste and recycling collection days worked extremely well and helped us maintain a reliable service during one of the busiest times of the year,” he said.
“By keeping the two-working-day adjustment in place, our crews can avoid the Christmas backlog that used to affect around 40,000 households, with a considerable additional cost to residents.”
He also urged households to recycle correctly over the festive period.
“Christmas is one of the busiest times for our waste crews and it’s also when we see the most recyclable material wrongly thrown into black bins. Every year, £2m is spent disposing of recyclable material incorrectly put in black bins – money that could go towards essential services.”
Residents can check their updated collection days by searching “look up” on the Council’s website or visiting www.swindon.gov.uk/lookup, which now includes festive FAQs.
Garden waste subscribers can have their real Christmas trees collected as part of the service. Those without a subscription can take trees to the Household Waste Recycling Centre, or use the Prospect Hospice charity collection service from 9–11 January.
