The annual call for Christmas to be a time for giving not dumping is part of the council’s larger campaign to get everyone to respect their local community spaces – ‘It’s Your Place’.

'It’s your place' asks that everyone does their bit to ensure that they dispose of all their waste in the correct way, not just over Christmas but throughout the year.

With ever-tightening council budgets, the ongoing campaign hopes to encourage everyone to help keep South Lanarkshire clean and a place to be proud of.

Councillor Robert Brown, the chair of the council’s Community and Enterprise Resources Committee said: “Our teams work hard to keep our communities clear of dumped litter and rubbish and Christmas time is no exception.

“Our It’s your place campaign continues to ask everyone to take pride in their community and dispose of any waste in our road-side bins, your own household bins or our recycling centres. It really is that simple.”

Not everything needs to be binned. There are plenty of outlets including charity shops, social enterprises or selling sites to help you declutter.

So please make sure you are putting the right stuff in your wheelie bins.

And if you have additional material that cannot fit into your household bins, please take your excess materials to your nearest household waste and recycling centres. And if that’s not possible you can check out our bulk uplift service.

Fly tipping is not just large-scale rural fly tipping – it is also rubbish dumped outside houses, next to wheelie bins or dropped around or near public litter bins.

These are all illegal activities. Individuals and businesses committing these offences can face fines of up to £40,000. You can report this using our online form.

In January we will collect real Christmas trees for free. If you get a burgundy bin collection you can put your real tree next to your bin. If you don’t get the burgundy bin service then you can request an uplift. And please remember that wrapping paper can go in your blue recycling bin as long as it isn’t foil or glittery paper.

For more information on reporting issues and what you can do to help keep your community clear from waste please go to our Fly-tipping information pages.