Milton Keynes City Council have confirmed arrangements for bin collections during the Christmas and New Year period.

As part of the announcement, MK City Council said that to help residents with their extra recycling during the festive season, they will be collecting blue and red bins during the week after Christmas. 

Recycling rates usually rise after Christmas when people have additional packaging, wrapping and bottles to dispose of. The amount of rubbish and recycling collected during the festive period typically goes up by 30% compared to the waste created during the rest of the year.

In contrast, green bin waste levels usually dip over winter as fewer residents are getting rid of garden waste. With this in mind, during week commencing 30 December, food and garden waste collections will pause to give crews enough time to pick up the additional recycling.

Since the city council introduced separate bins for paper and card and plastic, metal, and glass just over a year ago, MK’s recycling rates have increased by a third and city council sends almost nothing that MK throws away to landfill.

Interim Cabinet Member for the Public Realm, Cllr Akash Nayee, said, “During the festive season, our crews are busier than ever with the increased rubbish and recycling. To help our residents, we will collect blue and red bins, which tend to be fuller, and pause food and garden waste collection as they are generally lighter in winter. Thank you, MK, for helping us to boost our recycling rates and we hope this common sense change for the post-Christmas week is useful for everyone.”

Collections scheduled for Wednesday 25 December will take place on Friday 27 December and will see black, blue and green bins collected.

Collections scheduled for Thursday 26 December will take place on Saturday 28 December and will see black, blue and green collected.

Collections scheduled for Friday 27 December will take place on Monday 30 December and will see black, blue and green collected.

Collections scheduled for Monday 30 December will take place on Tuesday 31 December and will see black, red and blue collected.

Collections scheduled for Tuesday 31 December will take place on Thursday 2 January and will see black, red and blue collected.

Collections scheduled for Wednesday 1 January will take place on Friday 3 January and will see black, red and blue collected.

Collections scheduled for Thursday 2 January will take place on Saturday 4 January and will see black, red and blue collected.

Collections scheduled for Friday 3 January will take place on Monday 6 January and will see black, red and blue collected.

Collections scheduled for Monday 6 January will take place on Tuesday 7 January and will see black, blue and green collected.

Collections scheduled for Tuesday 7 January will take place on Wednesday 8 January and will see black, blue and green collected.

Collections scheduled for Wednesday 8 January will take place on Thursday 9 January and will see black, blue and green collected.

Collections scheduled for Thursday 9 January will take place on Friday 10 January and will see black, blue and green collected.

Finally, collections meant for Friday 10 January will take place on Saturday 11 January and will see black, blue and green collected.

Normal collections will resume from Monday 13 January 2025.

Real Christmas trees will be collected if the trunk is no more than 15cm / 6in in diameter, fit neatly inside your green bin with decorations removed. Alternatively, trees can be taken to one of the city council’s recycling centres. You can book a slot and check the opening hours at: www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/hwrc