Recycling at Christmas

Remember to check the changes to bin collections over the Christmas and New Year period.

Please remember that garden waste collections will be suspended at the end of the day on Friday 18 December 2026. Collections will restart from Monday 18 January 2027.

Christmas tree recycling

Christmas tree drop off points

With the climate emergency now a priority for the council, we want to make sure all our Christmas trees are composted locally, so we encourage you to take your Christmas tree to one of the following drop off points:

From 2 to 18 January 2027, locations around Cheltenham where trees will be collected and recycled:
- Cheltenham Racecourse - New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, GL52 3LT
- Cheltenham Town Football Club - Whaddon Road, Cheltenham, GL52 5NA
- Old Patesians RFC - Everest Road, Cheltenham, GL53 9LG
- Cheltenham B&Q - Golden valley retail park, Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham, GL51 6TA

Please note: Christmas tree drop off points will have a designated area marked off with cones and a sign. Please only use these areas to deposit your Christmas trees.

Christmas trees should be free of lights, decorations, pots or stands and trees up to five feet or one metres tall can be left out whole. Trees larger than this need to be cut down before being put out for collection.

Christmas tree kerbside recycling

Real Christmas tree collections - Garden waste customers

If you are a garden waste customer, you can recycle your real Christmas tree at the kerbside once collections resume from Monday 12 January 2026.

Simply place your real Christmas tree next to your brown garden waste bin at the kerbside on your normal collection day and the crews will be able to take it away to be recycled.

Real Christmas tree collections - Non-garden waste customers

If you are not a garden waste customer, you can dispose of your real Christmas tree at the kerbside from Monday 12 January 2026 with the Sue Ryder Christmas Treecycling collection service.

If your road does not receive a garden waste collection, please register for the Sue Ryder Christmas Treecycling collection service in Cheltenham from Monday 12 January 2026 to Friday 16 January 2026. Please ensure you register by 6 January 2026.

Book your collection with the Sue Ryder Christmas treecycling collection service

Please note: Christmas trees should be free of lights, decorations, pots or stands and trees up to five feet or one and a half metres tall can be left out whole. Trees larger than this need to be cut down before being put out for collection.

Alternatively, you can recycle your real Christmas tree at one of the four Christmas tree drop off locations around the borough, or at the household recycling centre at Wingmoor Farm, Bishop's Cleeve.

Recycling

At Christmas there is more to recycle than any other time of the year, please try to recycle as much as possible.

With materials such as mixed plastics, textiles, shoes, batteries and small electrical items accepted at the kerbside, it's easy to recycle in Cheltenham.

This Christmas, please remember to separate your recycling by using your kerbside recycling boxes and blue cardboard bags. Pre-sorting your recycling will ensure it remains good quality and helps to speed up collections reducing delays for other road users.

Excess recycling can be taken to one of the local bring bank sites or a recycling centre.

Ask the waste wizard where to repair, recycle, donate or dispose of your items

Christmas lights

Please put Christmas lights in a tied carrier bag and then place them in one of your recycling boxes for collection.

Christmas cards

Provided they do not contain foil or glitter decoration, these can be put into your blue cardboard bag, recycled at the cardboard banks at bring sites around the town. Remember you can remove the foil and glitter section of the Christmas card and recycle the rest of the card.

Wrapping paper

Wrapping paper which does not contain foil can be put into your kerbside recycling boxes for recycling. However wrapping paper made from foil cannot be placed in to the kerbside recycling box as unfortunately they cannot be recycled.

Tip: If your wrapping paper can be scrunched and stays scrunched up it doesn't contain foil, foil wrapping paper springs back when scrunched.

Cardboard gift boxes and packaging should be flattened and placed in your blue cardboard bag.

Coffee pods

Coffee pods can now be collected at the kerbside, so if you have a coffee machine or are lucky enough to get one this Christmas then please recycle your pods as part of your kerbside collection. More about the scheme can be found by going to our Podback coffee pod recycling page.

Food waste

If you do find yourself with food leftovers, please remember to either home compost it or pop it in your food waste caddy along with vegetable peelings and any other cooked or uncooked food. Carrier bags can be re-used to line food waste caddies. If you have more food waste than normal, you can put both your small and large caddies out for collection.

Plastic bags, films and wrappings

Plastic bags, films and wrappings can be taken to some supermarkets for recycling. Check at your local supermarket to see what you can recycle there.

If you are part of the kerbside trial, please remember to put all plastic bags, films and wrappings in your bag and present at kerbside with the rest of your recycling.

More information on reducing waste

Visit the Gloucestershire Recycles website.

Waste Wizard

Use our waste wizard search tool to find out what to do with an item.