West Berkshire has not published its Christmas 2026 bin dates. Last year every collection from Christmas Day slipped, running up to two days late until 17 January.
West Berkshire Council has not yet published its Christmas and New Year bin dates for 2026/27. Its rubbish collections page says only that crews collect on bank holidays “except over the Christmas period” and that “Christmas collection dates will be shared closer to the time”. The festive page it uses each year, westberks.gov.uk/christmaswaste, returns “Sorry, we can’t find this page” as of 24 September.
What we can tell you is what the council did last year and the year before, when both tables were published in the first half of December.
The quick answer
- 2026 dates are not out yet. Last year’s table was online by 15 December 2025, and households got bin hangers with their own dates up to 12 December.
- Last year, nothing changed until Christmas Day. Every collection from Thursday 25 December 2025 moved later, by up to two working days, until Saturday 17 January 2026.
- Garden waste stops for two weeks. In 2025/26 it paused from 31 December and restarted on 13 January, with up to three extra open bags taken on the first collection back.
What last Christmas looked like
This is the council’s 2025/26 table, taken from its own festive page as archived on 15 December 2025. These are not this year’s dates. They show the shape the council uses, and the shape is what tells you how late your collection is likely to run.
| Normal collection day | Collected on |
|---|---|
| Monday 22 December | No change |
| Tuesday 23 December | No change |
| Wednesday 24 December | No change |
| 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 December | 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 |
Three things stand out. Crews did not collect on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day. They worked two Saturdays, 3 and 10 January, plus 17 January. And the knock-on lasted more than three weeks: the table only ends with Friday 16 January, collected on Saturday 17 January.
The year before was shorter
In 2024/25 Christmas Day fell on a Wednesday and the disruption was over sooner. The council’s table, archived on 11 December 2024, moved Wednesday 25 December to Friday 27 December and Thursday 26 December to Saturday 28 December. It ended with Friday 10 January collected on Saturday 11 January.
So the council does not use a fixed rule like “everything moves one day”. It rebuilds the table around where the bank holidays land.
Why 2026 is likely to run late again
This year the bank holidays land on two Fridays and a Monday. GOV.UK lists Christmas Day as Friday 25 December 2026, the Boxing Day bank holiday as Monday 28 December (Boxing Day itself is a Saturday), and New Year’s Day as Friday 1 January 2027.
Friday households lose their day twice, and Monday households once. Our reading, not the council’s: expect the pattern of the last two years, with Monday to Thursday rounds before Christmas unchanged and a catch-up using Saturdays that runs well into January. Wait for the council’s table before you plan around it.
Garden waste and Christmas trees
The garden waste subscription runs 50 weeks a year. The council’s garden waste page says there is a two-week break over Christmas and New Year, and that the crews and lorries are moved on to rubbish and recycling, which peak then.
| 2024/25 | 2025/26 | |
|---|---|---|
| Garden waste paused | 23 December to 6 January | From 31 December |
| Garden waste resumed | Tuesday 7 January 2025 | Tuesday 13 January 2026 |
| Real trees collected at the kerb | 7 January to 31 January 2025 | 13 January to 6 February 2026 |
Real trees are only taken from garden waste subscribers, put out beside the green bin on your recycling day with lights, decorations and pots removed. The council says trees left out without a subscription will not be collected (West Berkshire Council, December 2025). On the first garden collection after the break it takes up to three extra open-topped bags, but not Hippo or tonnage bags.
Without a subscription, take the tree to a recycling centre. Both need a permit and a booked slot, and both close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day: see our Newbury tip opening times page.
Extra recycling after Christmas
Last year the council asked people not to use bin bags for extra recycling. Flattened cardboard can go next to the green box if it is no bigger than 85cm by 45cm. Wrapping paper that passes the scrunch test goes in the green box, and both recycling centres have dedicated wrapping paper bins. Food waste, turkey bones included, goes in the food caddy, which is collected weekly (West Berkshire Council).
For the normal three-weekly black bin cycle and what goes where, see Newbury bin collection days.
Still to be confirmed
- The 2026/27 revised collection table: last year’s was live by 15 December, and a Compton Parish Council notice relaying it went up on 8 December 2025. We will add the new dates as soon as the council publishes them.
- The garden waste break and the Christmas tree collection window for 2027.
To check your own address now, use the council’s find your collection day tool, which usually shows the revised date once the festive table is live.
Also useful: Christmas trains and buses from Newbury, parking in Newbury and Newbury roadworks.
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