Waste and recycling collections in the St Albans district will be revised over the festive holiday season.

The council’s contractor Veolia, which carries out domestic collections, is distributing a calendar to all 60,000 households.

This details the rearranged dates for the Christmas and New Year period, which includes three Bank Holidays when there are no bin collections.


When will my bin be collected?

St Albans and Harpenden residents who would normally have their bins collected on Monday, December 27 will now have them collected on the revised date of Wednesday, December 29.

Collections that would have taken place on Tuesday, December 28 are now scheduled for Thursday, December 30, and Wednesday, December 29's normal collections are two days later on New Year's Eve, Friday, December 31.

If your normal collection day is Thursday, December 30, your bin will be collected on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.

Dates are also revised in January due to the New Year's celebrations and the knock-on effect of the delayed December collections after Christmas Day.

For example, those who would normally have their bins collected on Monday, January 3 will have them emptied on Thursday, January 6, 2022.

The festive recycling and waste collection dates are below.

Herts Advertiser: The revised recycling and waste collection dates for Christmas and January 2022 in the St Albans district.The revised recycling and waste collection dates for Christmas and January 2022 in the St Albans district. (Image: St Albans Council)

The calendar also contains collection dates for 2022 which has an unchanged fortnightly pattern.

So, if your brown bin with non-recyclable waste is generally collected on a Tuesday and your recyclable waste on the following Tuesday, that will continue to be the case once normal services are resumed.

Details of the festive and 2022 dates can also be found on the council’s website at https://www.stalbans.gov.uk/rubbish-collections.

There is also a helpful A-Z list about how to dispose of the different type of waste, such as wrapping paper and packaging, that is generated during the Christmas season.

Councillor Anthony Rowlands, chair of the council's public realm committee, said: “The festive season is a very hectic time for our waste contractor’s crews as there is a great deal of waste and recycling to collect.

“Veolia has faced the very difficult challenges over the last year of a national driver shortage and staff absences due to COVID.

“This has caused some disruption to services, but generally Veolia have coped extremely well and maintained services.

“I hope that, with the help of residents, they will continue to provide us with a good service over the busy festive period.”


Christmas tree disposal

Christmas trees will be collected from all households on the first two recycling collection days of January if left beside the bins or in the green bin used by subscribers to the garden waste service.

After this, trees will only be collected from subscribers, and only if they are contained within the green bin.

Alternatively, residents in parts of St Albans and Harpenden can register to a charity Christmas tree collection service.

The limited service is being run by the Hospice of St Francis on a first come, first served basis.

Those who take advantage of it are asked to make donation to the charity.

Once registered, people can leave their real Christmas tree outside the front of their property on the evening of Friday, January 7 for collection on the following two days – Saturday, January 8 and Sunday, January 9, 2022.

To register, you will need to be within the AL1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 postcodes and log your details at charityxmastreecollection.com.

The website gives some suggested donation amounts and explains how the funds might be used.