REFUSE collections in Hartlepool will be unchanged over the festive season.
Council staff have agreed to work as usual on the two remaining Bank Holidays - today and January 3.
In previous years, there has been a backlog of collections that has taken days or weeks to clear.
Colin Ogden, Hartlepool Council's waste and recycling manager, said: "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with staff and trade unions that will enable us to provide a prompt and effective refuse collection service over then holiday period.
"Without this agreement, staff would have had to work on three successive Saturdays meaning that refuse collection would not have fully returned to normal until January 24.
"A lot of extra waste is generated at this time of year and this approach means that it won't be left to build up. I believe that we are the only local authority in the North-East to be adopting such an approach to Christmas and New Year collections.
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