In a bid to make summer a fun as possible in the Western Bay of Plenty, council is releasing helpful information tips about the region.

"We want to make sure you have everything you need to know about Western Bay of Plenty District Council's services over the holiday period, plus other helpful bits and pieces at your fingertips – so visit our website westernbay.govt.nz/summerinfo for all the details," says a spokesperson for the council.

Check out the most important info below:

Libraries and service centres

Don't miss out on getting your holiday reads out from the library or sorting out any end of year admin before the break! Our libraries, along with all Council service centres will be closed from midday on Friday 23 December and reopening regular hours from Monday, January 9.

Kerbside rubbish and recycling collections

Kerbside collections will carry on through the holidays, so you can continue to put your bins by out by 7am on your normal day.

Waihī Beach, Bowentown, Athenree - from Friday, December 23, to Friday, February 3, you'll get extra kerbside services. Each Monday we'll empty all bins, and each Friday we'll collect rubbish and food scraps. On Friday, December 30, council will do a one-off glass collection pre-New Year's Eve.

Pukehina – from Friday, December 32, to Friday, January 6, council will collect your glass, in addition to your normal schedule.

If you've got a holiday rental, please make sure to let visitors know about pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) tags, where to purchase them and how to attach them correctly through both loops to the red lid rubbish bin. See our Kerbside Collective website for details.

Recycling and greenwaste centres

Recycling and greenwaste centres may have different opening hours and days to usual over the holiday period, so make sure to check our website before you go. All centres are closed on Saturday, December 24.

There will also be excess glass drop-off available at Ōmokoroa Greenwaste Centre to help make the big holiday glass recycling easier! These bins will be available every Wednesday and Saturday, 2pm to 4pm from December 21 to January 28 (excluding Saturday, December 24).

Mobile recycling trailers will finish up for the year on Saturday, December 17, 9am to 1pm at Te Ranga School and start up again on Saturday, January 7, at Omanawa Hall and BP Pongakawa, 9am to 1pm.

Walking your dog

There are a few changes to where you can and can't walk your pooch In WaihĪ Beach during the busy summer period. From Wednesday 21 December to Tuesday 7 February between 9am - 7pm, dogs are not allowed on Main Beach. Outside of these times your furry friends are welcome!

And remember, as usual there are 'on-leash' restrictions in the main town centre areas of Te Puke, Katikati and Waihī Beach.

Freedom camping

Did you know we have 46 places you can freedom camp in the Western Bay? There are some stunning spots! To see them all and find out more about each place, check out our interactive map!

As a Council, we need to make sure everyone is complying with the rules, so our contractors do regular nightly and early morning patrols of most of our reserves. We also respond to complaints from the public about freedom camping.

Keep an eye out for our awesome summer ambassadors, who will be visiting freedom camping spots, parking areas and beaches around our rohe to make sure everyone is enjoying their stay and letting campers know about freedom camping opportunities.

Building and resource consents – clock stops

The period from Tuesday 20 December through to Tuesday 10 January is excluded from the 20-working-day statutory timeframe for building consents, code compliance certificates and resource consents.

Any applications submitted on or after Tuesday 20 December may not begin to be processed until after 10 January.

Our teams will work as efficiently as possible to process your applications!

Alcohol ban areas

If you didn't already know, there are year-round 24/7 alcohol bans in our main urban areas – Katikati, Waihī Beach and Te Puke. This means you can't consume alcohol in public within these areas.

And more

• Explore the District walking tracks and cycle trails
• Check before you jump – water quality in our streams and rivers
• Cool off on a hot day – public swimming pools
• If it's yellow let it mellow – water saving tips
• Check it's alright before you light – lighting a fire and permits
• Plan your journey – check out the Waka Kotahi journey planner
• Neighbours being loud? – excessive noise control

And don't forget - even when offices are closed, you can still contact us at any time on 0800 926 732 – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"You can also download the Antenno app to get notifications on important things straight to your mobile and report any problems to us easily through the app.

"Meri Kirihimete me ngā mihi i te wā. Merry Christmas and happy holidays from your Council crew."