West Suffolk's Christmas bin changes ran 25 December to 10 January last winter, back to normal on 12 January. The 2026 dates are due at the end of November.

West Suffolk Council has not yet published its Christmas 2026 bin collection changes. Going by the last two winters, it will do so at the very end of November, and the changed collections will run from Christmas Day into the second week of January.

The quick answer

  • Last winter, collections changed from Thursday 25 December 2025 to Saturday 10 January 2026, and normal days came back on Monday 12 January.
  • The council announced it on 1 December 2025, and on 29 November the year before. Expect the 2026 version in the same week.
  • Your own revised days are only on the council’s address lookup, not in a printed list. We will add the table here when the council publishes one.

What happened the last two Christmases

The council puts out one press release each year, and the pattern is steady:

Christmas Announced Changes ran Normal from
2024/25 Friday 29 November 2024 Wednesday 25 December 2024 to Saturday 11 January 2025 Monday 13 January 2025
2025/26 Monday 1 December 2025 Thursday 25 December 2025 to Saturday 10 January 2026 Monday 12 January 2026

The 2025 dates are from the council’s 1 December 2025 release and the 2024 dates from its 29 November 2024 release. Neither release printed a day-by-day table. Both sent residents to the council’s address lookup instead.

On that pattern, Christmas Day 2026 falls on a Friday, and the changes would be expected to run from Friday 25 December 2026 until around Saturday 9 January 2027, with normal collections from Monday 11 January. That is our reading of the pattern, not a council date. Do not plan round it until the council confirms.

How to find your own dates

Use the council’s When are my bins emptied page. It explains the Find my nearest service: click My House, enter your postcode, select your address and the collection dates appear. That page is also where the council printed its August bank holiday table this year, a simple list of each usual day against the revised one, so a Christmas table may appear there too.

Bins still need to be out by 6am on the revised day, with the lids fully closed. The council says open or ajar lids may not be collected.

Why this Christmas matters more

Since 1 June 2026 the two recycling bins in West Suffolk are emptied once every four weeks, not fortnightly. Miss a recycling collection over Christmas, the heaviest fortnight of the year for cardboard and bottles, and the next one may be a month away. Our bin collection days page explains the new five-container service, the missed-collection rules and what the crews will not take.

If your bin is too full: the recycling centres

Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Mildenhall recycling centres are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, per Suffolk Recycling, and every visit needs a booked slot. Every other day except Wednesday they are open 9am to 4pm in winter. Hours, the booking rule and the charges are on our recycling centre opening times page.

Still to be confirmed

  • The 2026/27 Christmas and New Year revised collection days, expected from the council at the end of November 2026.
  • Whether the council prints a day-by-day table this year, as it did for the August bank holiday.

We will update this page as soon as the council publishes. If you are driving into town for Christmas shopping, our parking page and roadworks page are kept up to date.