Bottle banks struggle to cope with festive waste
As festivities wind down, recycling centres are full to the brim with the remnants of New Year's Eve parties and Christmas waste.
Wednesday 2 January 2019 17:08, UK
Photographs have shed light on the backlog of overflowing bins that local authorities are faced with following the festive period.
Overflowing bottle banks at a Berkshire recycling centre provide an insight into the huge task ahead for authorities as people discard the remnants of their Christmas and New Year's Eve parties.
Rows of empty spirit, beer and wine bottles were sorted by colour and laid on the ground at a supermarket recycling centre near Bracknell, as piles of bin bags were awaiting collection in Leeds.
Social media users elsewhere have been complaining about overflowing bins due to altered collection timetables during Yuletide.
Some said the last time their rubbish was collected was before Christmas Day.
Greenwich council said it was dealing with "extremely large volumes of waste and recycling" and that services would be back to normal by 7 January.
Councils are also advising people throwing away Christmas trees to recycle or replant them instead.