The public holidays of Christmas and New Year will affect the emptying of HSY’s waste containers and the opening hours of Sortti Stations

There will be minor exceptions to the emptying schedules for waste containers due to public holidays in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and Kirkkonummi. HSY encourages residents to pay attention to waste sorting also during Christmas so that mixed waste containers are not filled to the limit unnecessarily. Sortti Stations will be closed during the public holidays of Christmas and New Year.

Helsinki Region Environmental Services will start the emptying of waste containers for the Christmas week 52 already on Sunday 22 December. Waste containers will not be emptied on the public holidays of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The emptying of waste containers will continue on Boxing Day, 26 December, but it will not be carried out on New Year’s Day, 1 January and Epiphany, 6 January. Due to public holidays, waste containers may be emptied a day earlier or later than usual.

More waste is often accumulated during Christmas, which makes its sorting even more important.

– If the waste containers are about to become overfilled, it is a good idea to store gift wrapping paper and packaging at home for a while until the waste container has been emptied. Flattening the packaging boxes before placing them in the waste container also saves space," says HSY’s Operations Manager Juho Nuutinen.

If you find it difficult to sort Christmas waste, you can find help in HSY’s Waste guide. The search engine contains instructions for sorting most types of waste generated at home.

Maintaining the passageways to the waste collection points makes the work of waste truck drivers easier

Especially in the city centre of Helsinki, there are properties that waste trucks cannot access on weekends or public holidays due to closed gates. These properties must ensure that the property's gates are open as on normal weekdays so that the waste containers can be emptied. 

– It is also important to keep passageways to the waste collection points clean and sanded so that both waste truck drivers and residents can move safely. This also makes the work of waste truck drivers easier and ensures that the waste trucks stay on schedule, says Nuutinen. 

The public holidays of Christmas have little effect on the regular emptying of sludge in cesspools and septic tanks. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, only emergency emptying of the sludge tanks is carried out. 

Sortti Stations will close for Christmas

The public holidays at the end of the year and Epiphany also affect the opening hours of Sortti Stations:

• All HSY's Sortti Stations will be closed during Christmas from 24 to 26 December and on New Year’s Day, 1 January 2025.
• On New Year’s Eve, 31 December, Sortti Stations will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the Koivukylä Sortti Mini Station will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• On Epiphany, 6 January 2025, only the Koivukylä Sortti Mini Station will be open and it will serve from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Other Sortti Stations will be closed.  

With the exception of public holidays, Sortti Stations will serve residents as usual on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Konala and Ruskeasanta Sortti Stations and the Koivukylä Sortti mini Station will also be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until the end of the year. As of January 2025, the Konala and Ruskeasanta Sortti Stations will open at 11 a.m. on weekends.  The instructions and opening hours of Sortti Stations can also be found on HSY’s website.