Worcester's 2026 Christmas bin dates are not out yet. Christmas Day and New Year's Day are Fridays, so Friday rounds move. Last year's full dates here.
Worcester City Council has not yet published its Christmas and New Year bin dates for 2026/27. What we can already tell you is which rounds are likely to move, because Worcester only collects household bins Tuesday to Friday, and this year both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on a Friday.
The quick answer
- The 2026 dates are not published yet. Last year’s full schedule went out on 15 December 2025; in 2024 the council’s page carried the dates by 3 December.
- Christmas Day is Friday 25 December 2026 and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027, so the Friday rounds are the ones to watch. The substitute Boxing Day bank holiday, Monday 28 December, should change nothing, because household bins are never collected on a Monday.
- Last year only the rounds that landed on a bank holiday moved, to the next Saturday or Monday, with extra crews working. Bins go out by 7am.
What is already fixed for 2026
The bank holidays are set by the government. For England they are Friday 25 December (Christmas Day), Monday 28 December (Boxing Day, a substitute day because 26 December is a Saturday) and Friday 1 January 2027 (GOV.UK bank holidays).
Worcester’s household collections of refuse, recycling and garden waste “do not operate on a Monday”, as the council’s own bank holiday collections page puts it. That is why the August bank holiday this year changed nothing for households. It is also why the Monday 28 December substitute day should not matter to your wheelie bin, though it will matter to businesses on commercial rounds.
So the only household days that clash with a bank holiday this winter are the two Fridays. How the council moves them is not yet known.
Last year’s schedule, for the pattern only
These are the 2025/26 dates, not this year’s. They show how the council handled bank holidays that fell on collection days. The council published them on 15 December 2025.
| Normal collection day | Revised collection day | Bin |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 23 December 2025 | No change | Green |
| Wednesday 24 December 2025 | No change | Green |
| Thursday 25 December 2025 | Saturday 27 December | Green |
| Friday 26 December 2025 | Monday 29 December | Green |
| Tuesday 30 December 2025 | No change | Black |
| Wednesday 31 December 2025 | No change | Black |
| Thursday 1 January 2026 | Saturday 3 January | Black |
| Friday 2 January 2026 | No change | Black |
The council said extra crews worked on Saturday 27 December, Monday 29 December and Saturday 3 January, and that there were no bulky waste collections from 23 December to 1 January. Its release also said collections returned to normal “from Tuesday 6 January 2025”, which was a typing slip for 2026.
The year before followed the same rule. For Christmas 2024, when Christmas Day was a Wednesday, the Wednesday round moved to Saturday 28 December, the Boxing Day round moved to Monday 30 December, and New Year’s Day moved to Saturday 4 January (council page as archived on 3 December 2024).
If the council repeats that approach in 2026, Friday 25 December and Friday 1 January collections would move to a nearby Saturday or Monday. That is our reading of the pattern, not a council statement. Wait for the published table before you change what you do.
What goes in which bin over Christmas
The council’s 2025 advice still applies (Worcester City Council):
- Green bin: large cardboard boxes, Christmas cards (not glittery ones) and wrapping paper (not foil or glittery paper).
- Black bin: tin foil and tinsel.
If the green bin overflows after Christmas, both city tips take cardboard. Bilford Road needs a booking on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, and Hallow Road shuts on bank holidays. Opening times and the Christmas closures are on our Worcester tip opening times page.
Businesses: commercial rounds move too
Commercial customers of Worcester City Waste had their own table last year. In 2025 the Christmas Day round moved to Saturday 27 December, the Boxing Day round to Monday 29 December and the New Year’s Day round to Friday 2 January (Worcester City Council). Commercial rounds do run on Mondays, so the Monday 28 December substitute day is likely to move something this year.
When the 2026 dates should appear
In 2025 the full schedule came out as a council news release on 15 December. In 2024 the dates were on the bank holiday page by 3 December. We will check the council’s page from mid-November and update this page as soon as the table goes up.
Your normal collection day is on the council’s find your bin collection day service. The rest of the year’s rules, including garden waste charges, are on our Worcester bin collection days page.
Frequently asked questions
Are Worcester bin collections changing over Christmas 2026? Probably only for Friday rounds, because Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are Fridays. The council has not published the 2026 dates yet.
Does the Boxing Day bank holiday on Monday 28 December affect my bins? It should not affect household bins. Worcester does not collect household refuse, recycling or garden waste on Mondays.
When will Worcester publish its Christmas bin dates? Last year’s schedule was published on 15 December 2025. In 2024 it was on the council’s website by 3 December.
Can I put wrapping paper in the green bin in Worcester? Yes, unless it is foil or glittery paper. Foil and tinsel go in the black bin.
Sources
- Worcester City Council, Bank holiday bin collections, checked 25 September 2026
- Worcester City Council, When to put your bins out this Christmas and New Year, 15 December 2025
- Worcester City Council bank holiday page, archived 3 December 2024
- GOV.UK, UK bank holidays
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