Craven residents and businesses are being urged to take note of changes to refuse and recycling collections, and council opening hours over the Christmas and New Year period.

The Council’s Customer Services Reception will be open from 9am to 1pm up until and including Christmas Eve, Thursday December 24. It will then close until Monday January 4.

During the Christmas and New Year fortnight, there will be a number of changes to the domestic waste collections. Tags have been placed on all residents’ bins informing them of these changes.

Collections scheduled for Tuesday December 22 will take place a day early, on Monday December 21. Collections scheduled for Wednesday December 23, will take place a day early, on Tuesday December 22. Collections scheduled for Thursday, December 24, will take place on Wednesday, December 23, and collections scheduled for Friday December 25 will take place on Thursday December 24.  

The following week, collections scheduled for Tuesday December 29 will take place a day early, on Monday December 28. Collections scheduled for Wednesday December 30 will take place on Tuesday December 29. Collections scheduled for Thursday December 31 will take place on Wednesday December 30 and those scheduled for Friday January 1 will take place on Thursday December 31.

Domestic refuse collections will be as normal from the week beginning Monday January 4. 

These details are all available on the council website at http://www.cravendc.gov.uk/christmasbins and residents can also check their collection times by using the website search function at www.cravendc.gov.uk/your-area

There will also be some changes to commercial waste collections, and customers are being emailed advising them of their collection dates.

This year the council will not be providing a free collection service for Christmas trees. This is due to limited take-up in previous years and a lack of economic and environmental benefit.  

Householders can also take their old Christmas trees free of charge to the Household Waste Recycling Centres at Skibeden, A59 Harrogate Road, Skipton or Sowarth Field Industrial Estate, Settle.

These sites are open six days a week from 8.30am to 4pm, throughout October to March (excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day). These sites are closed on Wednesdays.

Residents can continue to recycle their paper and cardboard, glass, cans, plastic bottles and cartons over the festive season using the council’s kerbside collection schemes.

If residents have any extra recycling they can put it in clear plastic sacks and leave it out with their blue bins for collection.

Clear plastic sacks can be collected from Bentham Post Office, Burton in Lonsdale Village Shop/Post Office, Long Preston Post Office, Clapham Village Stores, Kettlewell Village Stores, Ingleton Village Newsagents, Lamberts News in Settle, and Bradley Village Store. They can also be purchased from supermarkets.

Any cardboard must be flat packed, all packaging removed (i.e. polystyrene, foam), and kept clean and dry as wet/soggy cardboard will be treated as a contaminant by our contractor. All cardboard must be placed in the blue bin/household communal containers or in clear sacks.

For helpful tips on how to reduce the amount of waste produced over the Christmas and New Year period, please visit www.cravendc.gov.uk/christmasrecycling