News The real question you need answered this Christmas – when’s bin day?
Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) is reminding residents that bin collection dates will change over the festive period to ensure services run smoothly during Christmas and New Year.
Revised collection dates:
- Christmas Day (Thursday 25 December) collections will be moved to Saturday 27 December
- Boxing Day (Friday 26 December) collections will be moved to Monday 29 December
- New Year’s Day (Thursday 1 January) collections will be moved to Saturday 3 January
- Friday 2 January collections will be moved to Monday 5 January.
Collections from 5 to 9 January 2026 will move to one day later than scheduled until Monday 12 January, when collections will resume to normal.
Garden waste collections will be suspended from 25 December until 8 January to allow the crews to prioritise the increase of household waste over the period. Bulky collections will pause from 24 December and resume on 12 January. Clinical collections will run as normal.
Residents who subscribe to garden waste collections can place their real Christmas tree next to their garden bin (please remove all decorations). Alternatively, trees can be taken to Tovil or Allington Household Waste Recycling Centres.
To help reduce waste and recycle more this festive season, please ensure all recyclable materials are placed loose in the recycling bin, no plastic bags. Flatten all cardboard boxes to create space. Food waste should be home composted or placed in your food caddy. Wine or beer cans and bottles can go in your recycling bin. Polystyrene packaging and plastic wrapping must go in your black bin as they cannot be recycled.
Please recycle: cardboard boxes and packaging; Christmas cards and envelopes without glitter; Christmas crackers with the snap removed; Christmas pudding tubs; gift tags; glass bottles and jars; mince pie boxes, trays and foils; plastic bottles; sweet and biscuit tins/tubs; tins and cans; and wrapping paper that is non-glitter or non-plastic.
Items that cannot be recycled include baubles, tinsel and laminated or glittery wrapping paper. Glass baubles should be wrapped and placed in general waste, and plastic baubles should go in your black bin. Tinsel cannot be recycled and should also go in your black bin. For wrapping paper, use the scrunch test, if it stays scrunched, it can be recycled.
Councillor Clive English, MBC Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Enforcement, said: "We know Christmas is a busy time for everyone, and these changes help us keep collections running smoothly while prioritising household waste. By following the recycling guidance, residents can make a big difference in reducing waste and protecting the environment. Thank you to everyone for doing their bit to keep Maidstone clean and green this festive season."
- For full details and to check your revised collection day, visit MBC’s website.
- To subscribe to our environmental services newsletter, click here.