People living in Rutland are being reminded to check changes to their bin collection day over the festive season.

Rutland County Council is reminding people to double check their collection days towards the end of December and into January, as the majority of collections are due to take place a day later (an exception being collections due on Monday 25 December, which will be collected earlier). These changes also apply to properties on the separate farms and lodges collection round:

Usual collection day - New collection day

Monday 25 December - Saturday 23 December

Tuesday 26 December -Wednesday 27 December

Wednesday 27 December - Thursday 28 December

Thursday 28 December - Friday 29 December

Friday 29 December - Saturday 30 December

Monday 1 January - Tuesday 2 January

Tuesday 2 January - Wednesday 3 January

Wednesday 3 January - Thursday 4 January

Thursday 4 January - Friday 5 January

Friday 5 January - Saturday 6 January

For further information please click here, where a full waste guide can be found under 'Find your bin collection day'. 

A spokesperson for RCC said: "Winter means colder weather and green waste can sometimes freeze to the inside of your bin, if temperatures get really low. When frosts are forecast we'd advise residents to check the green waste is not frozen to the sides of the bin, a garden hoe or fork can be used to loosen the waste.

"The crews will always attempt to empty the bins, however, if your bin can't be emptied because the waste is either stuck or frozen inside, we would ask you to please wait until your next scheduled collection day."

Rutland County Council's Portfolio Holder for Highways, Transport and the Environment, Cllr Christine Wise added: "Our contractors are going to be working hard this winter to ensure that all bin collections are completed so we would please ask residents to ensure that they take a couple of minutes just to double check when their collection day is over the Christmas period.

"We would ask residents to please also keep in mind that this time of year can also cause disruptions to collections due to severe winter weather, like snow and ice, as well as delays caused by the sheer volume of seasonal waste. If collections along your street haven't taken place on the expected day, please leave the bins out and our contractors will return to collect them as soon as possible." 

Rutland County Council is encouraging people to try and reduce the amount they throw away as waste over the busy Christmas period. On average, food waste makes up 50% of the material in Rutland's black household waste bins. This is costly for households and bad for the environment. Love Food Hate Waste is a national campaign providing handy tips and advice to help everyone waste less food.

Households in Rutland will get an extra blue bag for additional recycling over the Christmas period. Once full, residents are asked to place this bag next to their grey recycling bin on collection day. Collection crews cannot remove any other side waste. For information about what items can and can't be recycled in Rutland, click here.

Residents are also advised to check opening times before traveling to use Rutland's recycling centres at North Luffenham and Cottesmore over Christmas. Operating hours for the two sites can be found online.

For more information about waste and recycling and your collection day, visit the RCC website.