Camden moves only the bank holiday bin rounds at Christmas; every other day stays put. Last year's table, the 2026 bank holidays and where your tree goes.
Camden has not published its Christmas 2026 bin dates yet. The last two Christmases followed the same rule: only the rounds that land on a bank holiday, and the days after them in that week, moved later. Everything else was collected as normal. The council put last year’s table out on 1 December 2025 and the year before’s on 4 December 2024, so expect the 2026 table in the first week of December.
The quick answer
- 2026 dates: not published yet. They are due in early December, in the council’s Christmas and New Year opening times notice.
- Christmas 2025: two days later over Christmas, one day later over New Year. Thursday 25 December went to Saturday 27 December and Thursday 1 January to Friday 2 January.
- This year’s bank holidays are Friday 25 December, Monday 28 December and Friday 1 January, so the Friday and Monday rounds are the ones to watch.
What happened at Christmas 2025
This is the table from Camden Council’s Christmas and New Year opening times 2025 notice, published on 1 December 2025. The council said collections returned to normal from Monday 5 January 2026.
| Normal collection day | Collected on |
|---|---|
| Thursday 25 December | Saturday 27 December |
| Friday 26 December | Sunday 28 December |
| Thursday 1 January | Friday 2 January |
| Friday 2 January | Saturday 3 January |
No other day changed. If your bins normally go on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, nothing moved at all.
The 2024 table, in the council’s Christmas and New Year opening times 2024 notice of 4 December 2024, worked the same way. Christmas Day fell on a Wednesday that year, so the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday rounds each moved two days later (Friday 27 December went out on Sunday 29 December), and over New Year the same three rounds moved one day later. Normal service came back on Monday 6 January 2025.
Both years, Camden used weekends. Do not assume a Saturday or Sunday means no collection.
Why 2026 will look different
The bank holidays this year, from GOV.UK, are:
- Friday 25 December 2026, Christmas Day
- Monday 28 December 2026, the substitute day for Boxing Day, which falls on a Saturday
- Friday 1 January 2027, New Year’s Day
That calendar last happened in 2015. Camden’s notice for that Christmas, dated 21 December 2015, moved Friday 25 December to Sunday 27 December, pushed Monday 28, Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 December back a day each, moved Thursday 31 December to Saturday 2 January, and moved Friday 1 January to Sunday 3 January.
That was eleven years and a different collection contract ago, so treat it as a clue, not a plan. We will put the real 2026 table here the day the council publishes it.
How to check your own day
The council’s check your collection day tool gives your normal day. Our Camden bin collection days page covers what goes in which bag, the twelve streets with fixed time bands, and when to put everything out.
Last Christmas the council also offered free extra recycling bags for the festive season, ordered at camden.gov.uk/order-bins or on 020 3567 8105. Contact Camden was closed for general enquiries on the bank holidays and the weekend between them; the council’s 24-hour emergency line is 020 7974 4444.
Christmas trees
Camden’s Christmas tree recycling page currently says its tree drop-off points are closed and that the City of London is not collecting trees on Hampstead Heath. The options it lists are:
- take the tree to Regis Road Reuse and Recycling Centre, Kentish Town, NW5 3EW
- put it out with your garden waste collection, if you subscribe and it is cut to fit the bin or bags
- book a bulky waste collection, where charges may apply
- use the seller’s take-back service, if it offers one
Do not leave a tree on the pavement or at a park gate. The council says dumping one counts as fly-tipping and can bring a £1,000 fine.
Regis Road over Christmas
The North London Waste Authority’s Regis Road listing gives 9am to 4pm every day, bank holidays included, but closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Boxing Day this year is Saturday 26 December; the NLWA has not yet said whether the site also closes on the Monday 28 December substitute holiday. Vans and trailers must book. The full rules are on our bin collection days page.
Still to be confirmed
- The 2026 revised collection table, due in early December.
- Whether Regis Road opens on Monday 28 December.
- Any tree drop-off points for January 2027. None were running last season.
If you are driving to the tip or the shops between Christmas and New Year, the council’s bank holiday parking rules are on our parking in Camden page, and our Camden Christmas travel page covers the Tube and rail closures. Street works are on our Camden roadworks page.
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