Winter and festive period bin collections

Bin collection date changes

There will be some changes to bin collections over the winter and festive periods.

Brown bins

From November 2025 to March 2026, brown bins will be collected less often. Collections will resume on a fortnightly basis from March 2026.

Check your exact collection dates on our when is my bin day page.

Blue and black bins

No collections will happen between Thursday 25 December and Thursday 1 January.

If your bin date is:

• Tuesday 23 December – your bin will be collected as normal.
• Wednesday 24 December – your bin will be collected as normal.
• Thursday 25 December – your bin will be collected early, on Monday 22 December.
• Friday 26 December – your bin will be collected one week late, on Friday 2 January 2026.

All collections are back to normal from 6 January 2026.

Check our when is my bin day page to keep up with your bin dates for the festive period.

Extra waste is acceptable

In certain circumstances we can accept extra waste.

Black bin: non-recyclable waste

On your first black bin collection in January 2026, we will take up to three extra bags of non-recyclable waste alongside your black bin.

Blue bin: dry recycling

You may leave extra bags of recycling alongside your blue bin on all your recycling collection dates during the year. Please ensure:

• that the bags are either open or loosely tied so that our crews can see the contents.
• that you wash and squash your recycling.
• Flattened cardboard can also be accepted alongside the extra bags.

If you are unsure about a particular item, check our Recycling Helper. Alternatively, book a visit to Raynesway HWRC.  

Brown bin: garden waste

No extra waste is accepted. You can order more brown bins or alternatively, book a visit to Raynesway HWRC.  

Tips to reduce your festive waste

This time of year generates a lot of waste, but you can find tips here on how to avoid it, saving money and helping the planet in the process.

Food

Writing a shopping list is always useful in reducing food waste and the amount you spend in the supermarket. In festive season, that is very important so you save your family money and reduce your food waste!

Love Food Hate Waste has tips, recipes and other tools to help you get as much from your food as possible.  For more Love Food Hate Waste inspiration, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Instead of throwing away your vegetable peelings, turn them into compost. It’s great for your garden and the environment. If you don’t home compost, then remember you can recycle these in your brown bin until 30 March 2026. From 31 March 2026, your food waste will need to be placed in the new food waste collection container. 

Christmas cards

Christmas cards can be recycled if they don’t have any glitter, foil or embellishments. If you do want to recycle all your cards, you’ll need to take off any embellishments and glittery areas before putting them in the blue bin. Alternatively, cut them up and make gift tags for next year.

Wrapping paper

Recyclable wrapping paper is now more readily available than ever, so please use wrapping paper that can go in your blue bin.

Other top tips

• Do as much wrapping as you can before the last pre-Christmas collection. This will ensure that any paper, card or packaging can be recycled before the holiday bin collections stop.
• Make sure you squash all your plastic bottles and collapse all your cardboard boxes to save space in your blue bin.
• If you need to replace the batteries in any of your appliances, you can recycle the old ones at battery recycling points in most supermarkets. When replacing them, consider using rechargeable batteries.
• Never put batteries in your bins – they could cause a fire during collection or handling.
• Homemade gifts are a great option because they allow you to take a personal approach to giving presents and decide exactly how much packaging to use.
• Instead of throwing old items away when you get something new, give them a new home. Charity shops are always looking for sellable goods. The Reuse Raynesway shop also accepts donations, and sites such as Facebook Marketplace, Freecycle and Freegle are great for passing on items.
• If you’re wrapping a delicate item, use shredded paper instead of foam peanuts or other plastic materials. You can then home compost shredded paper.
• If you get any new electrical items, you can recycle the old ones at the Raynesway Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC). Alternatively, see the recycling schemes offered by retailers of electrical items and return them to the store. Please don't put them in your bins – they pose a fire risk and contain valuable materials that can be recycled.
• If you have a real Christmas tree with a trunk thinner than 12cm, you can cut it down and put it in your brown bin to be composted. Alternatively, you can book a visit to the Raynesway HWRC. Please ensure that you remove all decorations, as these cannot be composted.