The 2026 Christmas bin dates are not out yet. Last year every Chelmsford round moved, with three Saturday catch-ups; here is each round's shift and what to expect.

Chelmsford City Council has not yet published its Christmas and New Year collection dates for 2026/27. The collection calendars on its website still run from November 2025 to October 2026, and the council said on 11 September that no printed calendar will go out this year.

What we can tell you is exactly what happened last year, round by round, because the council’s own calendars show it. Every one of the eight rounds moved, not just the ones that fell on a bank holiday.

The quick answer

  • 2026/27 dates: not published yet. Look up your round on the council’s check your kerbside collection day page from late October.
  • Two bank holidays land on collection days this year: Friday 25 December and Friday 1 January. Chelmsford does not collect on Mondays, so the substitute Boxing Day on Monday 28 December misses every round.
  • Last year the catch-up took four weeks and used three Saturdays (3, 10 and 17 January). Normal days did not return until the week of 19 January.

What changed over Christmas 2025/26

These are last year’s dates, not this year’s. They come from the council’s eight round calendars for November 2025 to October 2026, which are still on its website. The council’s festive notice of 22 December 2025 summed it up as no collections on Thursday 25 December, Friday 26 December or Thursday 1 January, with “three weekend catch-up collections” and a knock-on effect on other days (Chelmsford City Life).

Round Normal day Moved to
Tuesday A and B Tue 23 Dec No change
Tue 30 Dec Fri 2 Jan
Tue 6 Jan Thu 8 Jan
Tue 13 Jan Wed 14 Jan
Wednesday A and B Wed 24 Dec No change
Wed 31 Dec Sat 3 Jan
Wed 7 Jan Fri 9 Jan
Wed 14 Jan Thu 15 Jan
Thursday A and B Thu 25 Dec Tue 30 Dec
Thu 1 Jan Tue 6 Jan
Thu 8 Jan Sat 10 Jan
Thu 15 Jan Fri 16 Jan
Friday A and B Fri 26 Dec Wed 31 Dec
Fri 2 Jan Wed 7 Jan
Fri 9 Jan Tue 13 Jan
Fri 16 Jan Sat 17 Jan

Every round was back on its normal day from the week beginning Monday 19 January 2026. Sources: the council’s Tuesday A, Wednesday A, Thursday A and Friday A calendars and their B-week equivalents, read on 25 September 2026.

Two things stand out. The Tuesday rounds had no bank holiday at all, yet their 30 December collection still went to Friday 2 January, because the crews were catching up the Christmas Day and Boxing Day rounds that week. And the alternating pattern held throughout: whichever set of containers was due on your normal day was the set collected on the moved day.

Why 2026 will look different

The calendar is kinder this year. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are both Fridays, and the Boxing Day bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December (GOV.UK bank holidays). Chelmsford collects Tuesday to Friday, so on paper only the Friday A and Friday B rounds lose a collection day, twice.

Do not read too much into that. Last year the council moved rounds that were never affected by a bank holiday, and its waste policy only promises catch-up arrangements “usually taking place on the following Saturday/s” over Christmas and New Year. We cover that policy on our bin collection days page.

There is a second reason to check rather than assume. The council is rebalancing collection rounds, and says around 7,500 properties, roughly 10% of the city, may see their collection day or week change, with the new routes expected in early 2027. That is why it has not printed a calendar this year (Chelmsford City Life, 11 September 2026). Our round changes story has the detail.

Christmas trees

Last year there were two free-to-you routes, and both are likely to return:

  • Your brown bin, if you pay for garden waste. Real trees go in cut into manageable chunks, with branches less than 30mm in diameter.
  • Farleigh Hospice’s collection, for a donation. In 2025/26 you had to sign up by 4pm on Tuesday 6 January, with trees collected on 9 and 12 January (Chelmsford City Life).

The recycling centre over Christmas

Chelmsford Recycling Centre on Drovers Way is run by Essex County Council, not the city council. It closes on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and shuts at 1pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. You still need to book a slot if you arrive by car or van (Love Essex). Full hours, the South Woodham Ferrers site and the booking rules are on our Chelmsford tip opening times page.

What is still to be confirmed, and when

  • The 2026/27 revised dates. Last year’s calendar files are dated 26 September 2025 and the festive notice went out on 22 December. We will check the council’s round calendars again in late October and update this page the day the Christmas dates appear.
  • Whether the new routes start before or after Christmas. The council says early 2027.
  • The Farleigh Hospice tree collection dates for January 2027.

Report a missed collection the day after your collection day on 01245 615800, and check roadworks and travel if a closure has held up your street’s round.

Sources