Residents of South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City are being reminded that their bin collections will be later than usual following the Easter, early May, and King’s coronation bank holidays.

Those taking the opportunity to ‘Spring clean’ are also being encouraged to make environmentally-friendly choices. With the change in seasons there can be pressure to buy new clothes. Globally the clothing industry is responsible for more carbon emissions than international flights. In the UK, around £140 million worth of used but still wearable clothing goes to landfill every year. Buying second hand and donating unwanted clothes to charities is a great way to reduce this.

Head of Greater Cambridge Shared Waste, a partnership between Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Councils, Bode Esan, said: “Many of us will use the upcoming bank holidays to have a clear-out at home and declutter. It’s important to remember that there’s no such place as ‘away’ when throwing things away – they all have to end up somewhere. Please keep your unwanted items out of landfill by passing them on to someone who needs them. It’s easy to do this through neighbourhood Facebook groups, Gumtree ads, charity shops – some of which offer collections for large items – and even phone apps, like Olio. As a reminder, make sure you put the cardboard, plastic and scrunched up aluminium foil from Easter egg packaging in the blue bin.”

Things that are unsuitable for others to re-use can be taken to Household Recycling Centres. Household Recycling Centres are open as usual over Easter and bank holidays. Find opening times for your closest one on the Cambridgeshire County Council website.

Bode added: “Check whether broken items or clothing could be repaired before taking them for recycling – there are many local Repair Café events in our area that could help. Remember to sort items into different kinds before you head to a Recycling Centre – for example keep electrical items, clothing and scrap metal separate. The councils also offer a special collection for large items – look for information about bulky waste collections on our websites. If you choose another company to collect your waste, be sure to check that they are a properly licensed waste carrier, or your rubbish could be fly-tipped and you could be fined.”

You can check the Waste Carriers register here.

Residents can download their own tailored bin collection calendar on our bin day collection checker.

Greater Cambridge Shared Waste collects recycling and rubbish from around 128,000 households across the city of Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.