There will be changes to food waste, rubbish, recycling and garden waste collections over the festive season.
No collections will take place on Christmas Day or Boxing Day (Thursday, December 25 and Friday, December 26) so crews can spend time with their families.
This means that if your usual collections fall between December 25 and January 2, your collections will be on a different day.
Collections will take place on Saturday, December 27 instead of Christmas Day, and on Monday, December 29 instead of Boxing Day.
Collections between Monday, December 29, and Friday, January 2, will take place one day later than usual.
Cornwall Council will only collect real Christmas trees from households that have subscribed to the garden waste collection service.
You can compost your tree at home or take it to your local Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) for composting. If you do go to your local HWRC, the Council advises that you use the opportunity to take other items to avoid multiple trips.
Most of us produce more waste than usual over the Christmas period but many of those extra items can be recycled, including plastic sweet tubs, plastic advent calendar trays, tins, glass bottles and carboard boxes.
Christmas cards, envelopes and wrapping paper without foil or glitter can also be recycled. Please remove decorations like ribbon, foil, glitter, plastic film, tinsel and bubble wrap.
To see what items go in each recycling bag or box, see the Cornwall Council website.
Do not put batteries with your rubbish or recycling. They can start fires when crushed in rubbish lorries or at waste transfer stations.
You can take batteries (including button batteries and battery packs) to be recycled at your local Household Waste and Recycling Centre or many local supermarkets. Go to recyclenow.com to find out where you can recycle batteries locally.
Cornwall’s Household Waste and Recycling Centres will be open 9am to 4pm throughout the festive period except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. To find your nearest centre, see the Cornwall Council website.
Press release issued on December 1, 2025