North Yorkshire Council: Bin collection dates and other services over Christmas and New Year

Customer service centres will close to routine queries from 4.30pm on Friday, December 23, until 9am on Tuesday, January 2.

However, they will be open to services where an emergency response is required, including social care, housing and homelessness, registrars, trading standards and highways.

Residents are being urged to check their waste and recycling dates to ensure they do not miss a collection.

In the Harrogate, Scarborough and Richmondshire area, collections in the weeks commencing Monday, December 25, and Monday, January 1, will take place two days later than normal.

In the Craven and Ryedale area, collections in the week commencing Monday, December 25, will take place one day later than normal.

Paper and cardboard can be recycled at the kerbside or a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC), and residents should compact boxes as much as possible.

Only non-foil wrapping paper will be accepted, and glass, tins, cans and most plastics can be recycled at the kerbside. A full list of accepted items is available on the council’s website.

Anybody with a real Christmas tree can take it to one of the HWRCs to be recycled.

They will be open from 8.30am to 4pm throughout the festive period (except Wednesdays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day).

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for waste services, Cllr Greg White, said: "Checking waste and recycling dates might not be top of everyone’s priorities at this time of year.

"However, there will be several changes for most residents, so I’d urge them to have a look online to find out when either their waste or recycling is due to be collected.

"For many of us, we also tend to buy more than we need during the festive period, so I would urge residents to think twice about what they need to buy, ensure they recycle as much as possible, and reduce and reuse."

All registration offices are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

During the closedown, residents can still book an appointment to register a birth, death, and give notice of a wedding or civil partnership online.

Libraries will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Customers can still use North Yorkshire’s digital library, with thousands of free eBooks and eAudio books, as well as eNewspapers, eMagazines and eComics available to borrow, and a range of free reference resources to consult.

The county record office is closed throughout the festive period from Saturday, December 23, and will reopen at 9am on Tuesday, January 2.

Leisure centres, museums and galleries will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and opening times will vary over the holidays.

For more details, contact the individual venues.

Full details of arrangements for the holiday period can be found at www.northyorks.gov.uk/christmas.