Dumped trees are a no-go

Perth and Kinross Council has reminded residents that it will not be collecting real Christmas trees dumped at the side of the road.

It comes as the local authority releases its adjusted schedule for refuse collection over the festive period.

There will be no kerbside bin collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the NewYear bank holidays (January 1 and 2).

On the same days all nine recycling centres and all public toilets in the region will be closed as well as Perth Crematorium and Greyfriars Cemetery.

The last special uplift collection will be on Christmas Eve, which will then resume on January 5.

Unless householders are written to advising otherwise, those scheduled to have their green or blue bins emptied on December 25 and January 1 will instead have them emptied on December 27 and January 3 respectively.

Similarly, households scheduled to have their green and blue bins emptied on December 26 and January 2 will instead also have them emptied on December 27 and January 3 respectively.

There will be no brown bin collections after December 20, with this service returning to normal from January 4.

Mark Butterworth, head of environmental and consumer services said:“As ever, our refuse collection crews will continue to work throughout the festive period with the exception of Christmas Day and Boxing Day, as well as January 1 and 2.

“Plans are in place to make sure we pick up bins on other days.

“We would continue to encourage everyone to consider ways to reduce waste.”

PKC is also advising that real Christmas trees can be chopped up and added to home compost bins, or placed in brown bins or taken to a local recycling centre.

However, neither real nor artificial Christmas trees will be lifted if left at the kerbside.

Councillor Angus Forbes added: “With so many of us enjoying our gardens more than ever, consider keeping your old real Christmas tree and using it to make wildlife shelters in your garden: either trim the smaller twigs to the same length and tie them into a bundle for hanging in hedging for bugs to hide in.

“Or chop the trunk and branches into pieces and stack them in small piles around the garden to create a small refuge for wildlife – it’ll be amazing how many different insects this will attract, and it will improve the ecosystem in your garden.”

If there is severe weather over Christmas and NewYear, the waste services crews may not be able to access all parts of Perth and Kinross for collections.

If a bin is missed due to severe weather, residents are asked to leave it out for 48 hours and the council will attempt to return for it.

Householders can check their scheduled bin collection dates online at www.pkc.gov.uk/bindates