Changes to bin collections over Christmas
News release 10709, published on 18 Dec 2025
With the festive season fast approaching, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hart District Council have released the revised collection schedule for rubbish and recycling over Christmas and New Year.
Bin collections will continue as normal until Christmas and after this collection days will temporarily change, with residents advised to check their dates.
Unless bad weather affects the rounds, collection days will return to normal from Monday 19 January 2026.
For the first collection after Christmas only, crews will collect extra rubbish placed in sacks next to the waste bin. Extra recycling, including tins, cans, paper, plastic bottles and cardboard, will also be collected if put in clear plastic sacks. Flattened cardboard, no bigger than one metre squared, can be left next to the recycling bin.
Clean glass bottles can be put into the glass box or bin. If it is full, residents are asked to keep the extra glass until their next collection, they can also order an additional green box or glass bin.
This Christmas, residents will also be able to recycle their food waste for the first time. Food waste, which includes meat bones and vegetable peelings, should be placed in liners and into the caddies or shared food waste bin for collection. Extra food waste cannot be collected. Food waste collection dates will also follow the revised schedule.
The revised dates for waste and food waste (weekly) and recycling (fortnightly) collections are:
| Normal collection date | Revised collection date |
| Wednesday 24 December | Normal collection |
| Thursday 25 December | Monday 29 December |
| Friday 26 December | Tuesday 30 December |
| Monday 29 December | Wednesday 31 December |
| Tuesday 30 December | Friday 2 January |
| Wednesday 31 January | Saturday 3 January |
| Thursday 1 January | Monday 5 January |
| Friday 2 January | Tuesday 6 January |
| Monday 5 January | Wednesday 7 January |
| Tuesday 6 January | Thursday 8 January |
| Wednesday 7 January | Friday 9 January |
| Thursday 8 January | Saturday 10 January |
| Friday 9 January | Monday 12 January |
| Monday 12 January | Tuesday 13 January |
| Tuesday 13 January | Wednesday 14 January |
| Wednesday 14 January | Thursday 15 January |
| Thursday 15 January | Friday 16 January |
| Friday 16 January | Saturday 17 January |
For residents that use the councils' garden waste collection service, there will be a two-week break for collections over the festive period. Collections will stop after Wednesday 24 December and will start again from Thursday 8 January 2026. Customers should put their garden waste bins and real Christmas trees out on their normal collection day before and after these dates.
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services and Housing Cllr Laura James said: “I want to say a really big thank you to our crews who will be out working hard over the Christmas and New Year period focusing on food waste, rubbish and recycling collections so that we can get back to our usual collection schedule as soon as possible."
Hart District Council Portfolio Holder for Development Management and Waste Services Cllr Alan Oliver said: “With the extra waste generated over the festive period, it is important that people try to recycle as much as they can as well as thinking about how they can reduce the amount they waste.
"This year we've successfully rolled out the new food waste collection service so our residents can recycle more from the kerbside. They can also easily keep an eye on what food waste their household is producing."
Basingstoke and Deane residents can look up their revised collection dates over the Christmas period, using their postcode, at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/bin-collections and Hart residents at www.hart.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling/when-my-bin-day