Basingstoke's festive bin dates are printed on the calendar posted from September. Last year rounds ran a day late into January, with three Saturday pickups.

Your Christmas 2026 bin dates already exist, and they are probably on your kitchen table. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council says the cut-out-and-keep calendars it began posting in September show every collection “over the coming months”, and that this “includes over the festive period where collection dates temporarily change to allow crews time to catch up after the Christmas break”. That is in the council’s news release of 10 September 2026. The calendar is tailored to your address, so it is the one document that has your own festive dates on it.

The quick answer

  • Your festive dates are on the new bin calendar the council posted from mid September, the same one that brings in fortnightly rubbish from Monday 12 October 2026.
  • Last Christmas, collections ran as normal up to Wednesday 24 December, then every round moved later, three rounds ran on Saturdays, and normal days came back on Monday 19 January 2026.
  • Garden waste stopped for two weeks last year, from after 24 December to 8 January. Expect a similar break; the 2026 dates are not published separately yet.

If the calendar has gone missing, the council’s bin collections lookup gives your dates by postcode, and the council’s release says to use it “once the printed calendar has run out”.

What happened last Christmas

The clearest guide to this year is the schedule Basingstoke and Deane and Hart District Council published jointly on 18 December 2025, in the release Changes to bin collections over Christmas. It applied to rubbish and food waste, which were weekly then, and to fortnightly recycling. Each row is a normal collection day and the day it moved to.

Normal collection day Moved to
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

The council’s own table printed the 31 December row as “Wednesday 31 January”; the sequence shows it meant 31 December.

Two things stand out. The slip lasted more than three weeks, not just Christmas week: a Friday household was still a day late in the middle of January. And crews worked three Saturdays (3, 10 and 17 January) to catch up.

Why this year’s pattern will differ

Last year’s table does not transfer. From 12 October 2026 the black or grey rubbish bin goes fortnightly and alternates with the recycling bin, and your collection day may move too, as set out on the council’s changes to your waste collections page. The calendar dates are worked out for the new rounds, so rely on the calendar, not on last year’s table. Our bin collection days page covers the October changeover in full.

The 2026 calendar also falls differently. Christmas Day is a Friday, Boxing Day a Saturday, the substitute bank holiday is Monday 28 December, and New Year’s Day is a Friday.

Extra rubbish and recycling after Christmas

Last year the council relaxed the rules for the first collection after Christmas only:

  • extra rubbish in sacks placed next to the waste bin was collected;
  • extra recycling (tins, cans, paper, plastic bottles and cardboard) was taken in clear plastic sacks;
  • flattened cardboard no bigger than one metre square could be left beside the recycling bin;
  • extra glass was not taken: keep it for the next collection, or order another box or bin;
  • extra food waste is never collected.

Whether the same concession applies with fortnightly rubbish is one of the things the 2026 festive release should confirm. We will update this page when it appears.

Garden waste and real Christmas trees

For garden waste subscribers, last year’s collections stopped after Wednesday 24 December and restarted from Thursday 8 January 2026. Real Christmas trees went out on the normal garden waste day either side of the break.

If you do not subscribe, the Wade Road recycling centre takes real Christmas trees in its green waste container. It is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and you have to book; see our Basingstoke tip opening times page.

Still to be confirmed

  • The council’s 2026 festive release. Last year’s came out on 18 December, a week before Christmas. We will check from late November.
  • The garden waste break dates for 2026/27.
  • Whether extra sacks are taken at the first collection after Christmas under the new fortnightly system.

Getting about over the holiday instead? See Christmas trains from Basingstoke, roadworks and travel and parking in Basingstoke.