Christmas Day and New Year's Day both fall on a Friday, so those Cherwell rounds move. 2025's changes, tree collection dates and tip hours at Christmas.
Cherwell District Council has not yet published its 2026 Christmas bin dates. Last year it announced them on 10 December. What we already know is which rounds are in the firing line: Christmas Day and New Year’s Day both fall on a Friday this time, so Friday collections are the ones that will move.
The quick answer
- Friday rounds on 25 December and 1 January will move. Cherwell has not said where to yet.
- Last year, Christmas Day’s round went three days early, to the Monday before. Do not assume a delay.
- Real Christmas trees go out next to your blue bin in the first half of January, on your recycling week.
Why this year’s Christmas hits Friday households
Cherwell’s crews collect Tuesday to Friday and do not run Monday rounds at all, as the council says on its bin pages.
The 2026 bank holidays are:
- Friday 25 December, Christmas Day
- Monday 28 December, the substitute Boxing Day holiday, because 26 December is a Saturday
- Friday 1 January 2027, New Year’s Day
The Boxing Day holiday lands on a Monday, when Cherwell collects nothing anyway. That leaves two Friday rounds, on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, that need another date. Households collected Tuesday to Thursday may find nothing changes for them, but the council has not confirmed that.
What happened last Christmas
For 2025, Cherwell published its changes on 10 December 2025. Three collection days moved. These are last year’s dates, not this year’s.
| Normal collection day | Moved to | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 25 December (Christmas Day) | Monday 22 December | Three days early |
| Friday 26 December (Boxing Day) | Saturday 27 December | One day late |
| Thursday 1 January (New Year's Day) | Saturday 3 January | Two days late |
The pattern is not a simple “everything slips a day”. The Christmas Day round went out early, in the working week before, while the others went to the following Saturday. Anyone who waited for a late collection that Christmas missed it.
The changes covered green, blue and food bins. Councillor Ian Middleton, the portfolio holder for neighbourhood services, told residents to “double-check their collection day, as it may be different from usual”.
Garden waste stops for two weeks
Brown bin collections were suspended from Monday 22 December 2025 to Saturday 3 January 2026, to free crews for the extra rubbish and recycling. In 2024 the suspension ran from 23 December 2024 to 7 January 2025.
Expect a similar gap this year. The council’s advice last year was to take garden waste to a household waste recycling centre in the meantime.
Glass now goes in the blue bin
This is the first Christmas with kerbside glass in Cherwell. Since 1 January 2026, empty jars and bottles go straight into the blue recycling bin, so the trip to the bottle bank after Christmas is no longer needed.
Christmas tree collection
Cherwell collects real trees from the kerbside every January, on your recycling week, next to the blue bin.
| Christmas | Collection window | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Tuesday 9 to Friday 19 January 2024 | Cherwell, archived |
| 2024 | Tuesday 7 to Friday 17 January 2025 | Cherwell, 30 Dec 2024 |
| 2025 | Tuesday 6 to Friday 16 January 2026 | Cherwell, 31 Dec 2025 |
The window has started on the first Tuesday after New Year’s Day for three years running, which would put the 2027 start at Tuesday 5 January. That is our reading of the pattern; the council has not announced it.
The rules from the council’s January 2026 notice:
- Remove every decoration
- Cut any tree over five feet tall in half
- If you pay for garden waste, put it in the brown bin; if not, leave it beside the blue bin
- Broken fairy lights and small electricals can go in a standard carrier bag on top of any bin
The trees go to a site at Ardley, where they are composted and given to farmers.
The tip over Christmas
Oxfordshire County Council runs the two recycling centres serving the district, Alkerton, Stratford Road, OX15 6HZ for Banbury and Ardley Fields, Brackley Road, OX27 7PH for Bicester. Both open 8am to 5pm every day and must be booked in advance.
Over Christmas, the Alkerton and Ardley Fields pages say:
- Closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day
- Close early at 3pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve
- Normal hours on the other bank holidays
The pages do not say whether “Boxing Day” means Saturday 26 December or the Monday 28 December bank holiday this year. Check the booking system before you load the car on either day.
One change to know about for later: the county has approved new winter hours of 9am to 4pm and full closures on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, but not until winter 2027. This Christmas runs on the current hours.
More on the tip, the booking rule and van permits is on our Banbury bin collection days page.
Still to be confirmed
- 2026 revised collection days: expected in the first half of December, on last year’s 10 December timing
- Garden waste suspension dates: usually announced with the collection changes
- 2027 Christmas tree collection window: announced around New Year last year and the year before
We will update this page as soon as the council publishes. If you are driving into town for Christmas shopping, see parking in Banbury and the current roadworks.
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