Croydon's Christmas bin collections ran up to three days late from 25 December to 9 January last year. Every changed date, tree collection and tip closure.
Croydon’s Christmas and New Year bin collections move by one, two or three days, and last year the changes ran for a full fortnight, from Thursday 25 December to Friday 9 January. Nothing moved before Christmas Day: if your bins go out on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, the week before Christmas was normal. The council has not yet published its dates for Christmas 2026. Last year it announced them on 12 December, and its collection calendars already showed the changed days. This page sets out exactly what happened last year, day by day, so you know what to expect, and it will be updated as soon as the 2026 dates are out.
The quick answer
- Collections were delayed by one, two or three days from 25 December to 9 January last winter, and back to normal from Monday 12 January.
- Thursday and Friday rounds moved the most: Christmas Day’s collection went to Saturday 27 December, Boxing Day’s to Monday 29 December.
- 2026 dates are not out yet. This year Christmas Day and New Year’s Day both fall on a Friday, with the Boxing Day bank holiday on Monday 28 December. Check back in early December.
How the dates moved last Christmas
This is the council’s own 2025-26 collection timetable, the calendar it publishes for each collection round, read day by day. The calendars for each collection day are published as PDFs by Croydon Council, for example the Tuesday calendar and the Friday calendar. The A and B versions of each day carry the same Christmas dates.
| Usual day | Christmas week | New Year week | First week of January |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Mon 22 Dec (no change) | Tue 30 Dec | Tue 6 Jan |
| Tuesday | Tue 23 Dec (no change) | Wed 31 Dec | Wed 7 Jan |
| Wednesday | Wed 24 Dec (no change) | Fri 2 Jan | Thu 8 Jan |
| Thursday | Sat 27 Dec | Sat 3 Jan | Fri 9 Jan |
| Friday | Mon 29 Dec | Mon 5 Jan | Sat 10 Jan |
Everything was back on its usual day from Monday 12 January 2026.
Two things are worth noticing. The delay did not end after New Year’s Day: every round was still a day late in the first full week of January, which is the week people most often put bins out on the wrong day. And the Friday round was collected on two Saturdays and two Mondays across the period, so Friday households had the most changes to track.
The council’s announcement, published on 12 December 2025, put it in one line: “From Thursday 25 December to Friday 9 January, waste collection dates will be delayed either by one, two or three days.” The calendar says collections “may take place up to 3 days later than usual”.
Christmas 2026: what we know so far
The 2025-26 calendar runs to November 2026, so new calendars for Christmas 2026 have still to be issued. Until they are, only the bank holidays are fixed. According to GOV.UK, they are:
- Friday 25 December 2026, Christmas Day
- Monday 28 December 2026, the substitute Boxing Day holiday, because 26 December is a Saturday
- Friday 1 January 2027, New Year’s Day
That is a different pattern from last year, when the holidays fell on a Thursday and a Friday, so do not simply reuse last year’s table. We will publish the council’s 2026 dates here as soon as they appear.
To find your usual day now, use the council’s address lookup, or see our full Croydon bin collection days page for what goes in each bin.
Real Christmas tree collection
Real trees, not artificial ones, are collected free after Christmas. Last winter:
- The council’s December announcement said to put the tree out by Monday 5 January, for collection “as soon as possible by Friday 16 January”.
- The collection calendars said tree collections would start on 6 January, with trees put out from Tuesday 6 January.
The two council sources differ by a day, so the safe course is to have your tree out by the Monday. You can also take a real tree to any of Croydon’s three reuse and recycling centres before then.
Tips over Christmas
The reuse and recycling centres close for part of the holiday. Last year the council said they would be closed from midday on Wednesday 24 December to Saturday 27 December, and on 1 January 2026 (Croydon Council). Opening hours for all three sites, and what you need to bring, are on our Croydon tip opening times page.
If your bin is missed
The calendar tells residents to leave bins out and check the council’s service status page if a collection is missed. Over Christmas, check the changed day first: most “missed” bins in the New Year week are simply not due yet.
Still to be confirmed
- The 2026-27 collection calendar and the Christmas 2026 changed dates. Last year the council’s announcement came on 12 December. We will check from 1 December.
- Christmas tree collection dates for January 2027.
- Tip closures over Christmas 2026.
Travelling over the holiday? Our Christmas trains and travel page has what is known about rail and trams, and parking in Croydon covers charges.
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