West Northants has not published its Christmas 2026 bin dates. Last year only Northampton's Christmas Day round moved, to the Saturday. What to expect now.
West Northamptonshire Council has not yet published its Christmas and New Year bin collection dates for 2026. We checked its news feed and its bin collection pages on 24 September 2026. Last year the festive notice came out on 5 December, so expect this year’s in the first week of December. This page sets out what is already fixed, what happened last Christmas in each of the three collection areas, and why a Friday Christmas Day is likely to move more rounds than last year did.
The quick answer
- 2026 dates: not published yet. The council’s festive collection notice for 2025 was issued on 5 December 2025. We will update this page the day the 2026 version appears.
- Last year in Northampton, only one round moved. Christmas Day collections went on Saturday 27 December. Boxing Day and New Year’s Day rounds ran as normal.
- Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday and New Year’s Day 2027 is also a Friday, so Friday households are the ones most likely to be moved this time.
- Garden waste stopped for two weeks last year, from 22 December to 4 January, and real trees were collected on the garden waste round from 5 to 16 January.
What is already fixed for Christmas 2026
Three things are settled before the council says a word about bins.
- The bank holidays. Christmas Day is Friday 25 December 2026, the Boxing Day bank holiday falls on Monday 28 December because 26 December is a Saturday, and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027. The council lists all three on its term dates page.
- The recycling centres’ Christmas hours. All six household waste recycling centres, including Sixfields and Ecton Lane in Northampton, close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and shut at 2pm on Christmas Eve, according to the council’s Sixfields page. Every visit needs a booked slot. Full hours and the booking rules are on our tip opening times page.
- Food waste carries on weekly. Last year the council said food waste bins “will continue to be collected on their usual weekly schedule” through the festive period, and nothing has changed in the service since.
Last Christmas, area by area
West Northamptonshire runs three different collection operations, and last Christmas they were treated differently. Northampton’s rounds are collected by Veolia, the Daventry area by West Northamptonshire Norse, and the former South Northamptonshire area by the council’s in-house crews. The 5 December 2025 notice set out these changes. They are last year’s dates, not this year’s.
| Area | Due Thu 25 Dec | Due Fri 26 Dec | Due Thu 1 Jan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton (Veolia) | Sat 27 Dec | No change | No change |
| Daventry area (WN Norse) | Sat 27 Dec | Sun 28 Dec | Sat 3 Jan |
| South Northants (in-house) | Sat 27 Dec | Mon 29 Dec | Sat 3 Jan |
Northampton was the only area whose crews worked Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Every other collection day in the two festive weeks ran as printed, in all three areas.
Why this year may look different
Christmas 2025 fell on a Thursday, so the Christmas Day round moved two days to the Saturday and the Friday rounds were a decision for each contractor. Christmas 2026 falls on a Friday, with a substitute bank holiday on the Monday, and New Year’s Day 2027 is a Friday too.
That changes the shape of the problem. If Veolia follows the same approach as last year, the Friday 25 December round in Northampton would move to Saturday 26 December, and the Friday 1 January round would become the question. Whether the Monday 28 December substitute holiday is worked, as Boxing Day was last year, is the council’s call. None of this has been announced, and the council has not issued a bank holiday collection notice of any kind in 2026, so do not put your bin out on an assumed date. Our bin collection days page has the normal rounds and the council’s postcode lookup.
Garden waste, Christmas trees and extra recycling
Last year three things applied across the whole district, and they are the parts of the festive notice least likely to change.
- Garden waste was suspended from Monday 22 December to Sunday 4 January. The subscription is a 12-month service, so the two missed collections are built into the price.
- Real Christmas trees were collected from Monday 5 January to Friday 16 January on the normal garden waste round. You did not need a garden waste subscription. Trees over 6ft had to be cut in half “so they fit in the lorries safely”.
- Extra recycling could be left beside the bin in clear plastic bags or boxes.
If you would rather not wait for the tree round, both Northampton recycling centres take trees and garden waste free with a booked slot, once they reopen after New Year’s Day.
What to do if a collection is missed
The council’s rule for a missed bin is unchanged over Christmas: report it through its website within two working days of the scheduled collection, and the crew returns. In a week where rounds have moved, check the revised date first, because a bin reported as missed on its normal day will be rejected if the round was rescheduled. The bin collection day page, last updated by the council on 1 September 2026, also points to the council’s app, which sends a reminder the night before each collection and carries any festive changes once they are loaded.
Frequently asked questions
When will West Northamptonshire publish the Christmas 2026 bin dates?
It has not said. The 2025 notice came out on 5 December 2025. We check the council’s news feed daily and will update this page the same day.
Are bins collected on Boxing Day in Northampton?
They were in 2025, in Northampton only. The Daventry and South Northants areas moved their Boxing Day rounds to the following Sunday and Monday. Boxing Day 2026 is a Saturday, so the question this year is the Monday 28 December substitute holiday.
Is the tip open between Christmas and New Year?
Yes, apart from Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Christmas Eve is a 2pm finish. Every visit must be booked in advance. See our tip opening times page.
Do I need a garden waste subscription for my Christmas tree to be collected?
Not last year. Trees went on the garden waste round for two weeks in January and the council said no subscription was needed.
Sources
- West Northamptonshire Council, Waste and recycling collection arrangements for the festive season, 5 December 2025
- West Northamptonshire Council, Bin collection day, last updated 1 September 2026
- West Northamptonshire Council, Northampton Sixfields Household Waste Recycling Centre, last updated 29 June 2026
- West Northamptonshire Council, Term dates (bank holiday dates), last updated 27 April 2026
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