Christmas and New Year's Day both fall on a Friday in 2026, so Friday rounds move. Last year's full table, the monthly green bin, and when 2026 dates land.

South Cambridgeshire has not yet published its Christmas 2026 bin dates. Last year the council announced them on 16 December, and only four collection days moved. This year the bank holidays land on two Fridays and a Monday, and that shape tells you most of what to expect before the table appears.

The quick answer

  • 2026 dates: not published yet. Last year’s announcement came on 16 December 2025, so expect this year’s in mid December.
  • Friday is the day to watch. Christmas Day is Friday 25 December and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027. The Boxing Day holiday moves to Monday 28 December, and there is no Monday round to disturb.
  • Green bins go monthly over winter. Last year they switched from fortnightly to monthly between 23 December and 2 March.

Why so few dates move here

Household bins in South Cambridgeshire are emptied Tuesday to Friday only. The Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service, which runs collections for South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City councils, works a four-day week. That is why a bank holiday Monday moves nothing here, and it is why the council said last year that “the four-day week bin collection schedule helps to minimise changes for residents at this time of year”. (South Cambridgeshire District Council, 16 December 2025)

The 2026 bank holidays are set by the government:

Bank holiday Date Is it a collection day here?
Christmas Day Friday 25 December 2026 Yes, Friday rounds
Boxing Day (substitute day) Monday 28 December 2026 No, there is no Monday round
New Year’s Day Friday 1 January 2027 Yes, Friday rounds

Source: GOV.UK bank holidays.

What it means for you: if your bins go out on a Friday, both of your collections over the festive fortnight are likely to change. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday households may see no change at all, as most did last year. That is an inference from the calendar, not a council announcement; the table below will be replaced with the council’s own when it is published.

What changed last Christmas (2025/26)

Last year the holidays fell on a Thursday and a Friday, so the council moved the Thursday and Friday rounds and nothing else. This is its published table.

Usual collection day Revised collection day Change
Wednesday 24 December Wednesday 24 December No change
Thursday 25 December Monday 22 December 3 days early
Friday 26 December Monday 29 December 3 days late
Tuesday 30 December Tuesday 30 December No change
Wednesday 31 December Wednesday 31 December No change
Thursday 1 January Friday 2 January 1 day late
Friday 2 January Saturday 3 January 1 day late
Tuesday 5 January Tuesday 5 January Back to normal

Source: South Cambridgeshire District Council, Changes to bin collections this Christmas, 16 December 2025.

Two things stand out. The service used the spare Monday, a day with no normal round, to catch up in both directions: Christmas Day’s collections came three days early on Monday 22 December, and Boxing Day’s three days late on Monday 29 December. And it moved the Friday 2 January round to a Saturday rather than into the following week.

Those are last year’s dates. They are not this year’s.

Green bins go monthly in winter

The council describes this as the usual pattern “for this time of year when less garden waste is generated”. Last winter green bins switched from fortnightly to monthly collections between 23 December and 2 March. The first green bin is free in South Cambridgeshire, so there is nothing to renew; the bin collection days page covers what goes in it and what a second bin costs.

Food waste over Christmas

Weekly food waste collections are being introduced in phases through 2026. In last year’s announcement the council’s lead cabinet member for environment, Natalie Warren-Green, said that “by this time next year, almost all households in our area will benefit from weekly collections of food waste”. Our food waste rollout page has which villages are in which wave. If your caddy has not arrived yet, the same joint release quoted Cambridge City Council’s Cllr Rosy Moore: “if you have a green wheelie bin you can already put any food waste in that to be composted.”

The tips over Christmas

Milton and Thriplow household recycling centres are run by Cambridgeshire County Council, not the district. Both close at 1pm on Christmas Eve and 4pm on New Year’s Eve, and both are shut on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Winter hours, the van permit and the bank holiday catch are on our bin collection days page.

Still to be confirmed

  • The 2026/27 revised collection table. Due in mid December, going by last year’s 16 December announcement. This page will be updated with it.
  • The green bin winter switch dates. Last year’s ran 23 December to 2 March.

Your own dates will show on the Greater Cambridge Waste collection finder once the festive schedule is loaded. If you are travelling over Christmas, our roadworks and travel page and Christmas trains and buses page have the rail closures.

Sources