Cllr Bob Belam

Every household in the UK produces an average of 50kg extra waste over Christmas, and in Waltham Forest we are committed to recycling as much of this as possible.

Collection days
Christmas tree recycling
Cardboard recycling
Wrapping paper recycling
Suspension of bulky waste collections 

Christmas collections of rubbish and recycling

Rubbish, recycling, green waste and trade waste collections will be affected by the Christmas and New Year bank holidays.

Christmas tree recycling

If you choose a real Christmas tree this year, you can recycle it in three ways:         

Take it to a recycling centre:
Gateway Road, E10
Kings Road, E4
South Access Road, E17         

In your green waste collection
Cut it up and put it in your brown garden waste bin, if you have one.          

Request a Christmas Tree Collection
Book online or call 020 8496 3000 by Sunday 6 January to request a free collection. Trees will be collected between Monday 7 January and Friday 18 January.

Cardboard recycling

At Christmas many of us will have much more cardboard than usual. Make sure you recycle yours:         

Take it to a recycling centre:
Gateway Road, E10
Kings Road, E4
South Access Road, E17         

Flatten, fold or cut it to fit in your black recycling box o          Request a Christmas Cardboard Collection
Book online or call 020 8496 3000         

Request your collection by Friday 28 December for a collection by Friday 4 January         

Request your collection by Sunday 6 January for a collection by Friday 11 January

Wrapping paper recycling

Paper gift wrap can be recycled in your black recycling box. Cellophane wrapping cannot be “collected for recycling” and should be put in your wheeled refuse bin.

You can also recycle paper gift wrap at the reuse and recycling centres at Gateway Road in Leyton , Kings Road in Chingford , South Access Road in Walthamstow , and several mini recycling sites .

Suspension of bulky waste collections

Each year, the special collection service for bulky household waste is suspended over Christmas. The last booking date is Friday 14 December, and the last collections will take place in the week beginning Monday 17 December. Bookings will start again on Monday 31 December for collections in the week beginning Monday 7 January. During this period residents can use the reuse and recycling centres at Gateway Road in Leyton , Kings Road in Chingford and South Access Road in Walthamstow