Elmbridge has not published its Christmas 2026 bin dates. Rounds move later, not earlier: here is last year's full table, the tip hours and where trees go.
Elmbridge Borough Council has not yet published its bin collection dates for Christmas and New Year 2026. We checked its Christmas page on 28 September and it still carries last winter’s table, which ran from 25 December 2025 to 10 January 2026.
Those dates cannot be reused. Christmas Day fell on a Thursday last year and falls on a Friday this year, so every revised day will be different.
The quick answer
- The 2026 dates are not published yet. The council’s Christmas bin collection page still shows the 2025 to 2026 schedule
- Collections move later, never earlier. Last year every round from Christmas Day onwards slipped by one or two days, and it took until Saturday 10 January to catch up
- Bins go out by 6am on the revised day, at the edge of your property
Why this Christmas is awkward
The bank holidays fall on Friday 25 December, Monday 28 December (the substitute day for Boxing Day, which is a Saturday) and Friday 1 January 2027, according to the GOV.UK bank holiday list.
That gives the crews two Fridays and a Monday to make up. Last year the missed days were a Thursday and a Friday in the first week and a Thursday in the second.
Last year’s table, as a pattern only
These are not this year’s dates. They show how the council handles the fortnight: no collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day, Saturday working to catch up, and a third week of one-day slips before normal service returns.
| Normal collection day | Revised collection day |
|---|---|
| Thursday 25 December 2025 | Saturday 27 December |
| Friday 26 December | Monday 29 December |
| Monday 29 December | Tuesday 30 December |
| Tuesday 30 December | Wednesday 31 December |
| Wednesday 31 December | Friday 2 January |
| Thursday 1 January 2026 | Saturday 3 January |
| Friday 2 January | Monday 5 January |
| Monday 5 January | Tuesday 6 January |
| Tuesday 6 January | Wednesday 7 January |
| Wednesday 7 January | Thursday 8 January |
| Thursday 8 January | Friday 9 January |
| Friday 9 January | Saturday 10 January |
After Saturday 10 January the council said collections returned to the usual days.
If your bin is missed
The council’s standing advice for the festive period is to leave the bin out. “If bad weather disrupts collections over the festive period please keep your refuse or recycling bins out. We will try to collect any missed bins as soon as we can,” its Christmas page says.
Collections across the borough have also been running late this autumn for reasons that have nothing to do with Christmas. Our Elmbridge bin collection days page has the current position.
Real Christmas trees
Garden waste subscribers can put a real tree in the brown-lidded bin. The council asks you to take off all decorations and lights and chop the tree into smaller pieces first.
Trees can also go to a community recycling centre. There is none inside the borough, so that means Shepperton, Leatherhead or Epsom: see our tip opening times page.
Last winter the council’s page also listed three charity collections. They are here as a guide to who to look out for, not as confirmed 2026 offers:
- Princess Alice Hospice collected from Wednesday 7 January 2026 for a minimum donation of £20
- Garsons, Esher took trees on Saturday 10 January 2026
- 1st Weston Green Scouts collected from Esher, Molesey, Long Ditton, Thames Ditton and Hinchley Wood for £10, or £16.50 for a large tree
Tip hours over Christmas
Surrey County Council publishes the same festive hours for every community recycling centre, including Shepperton:
- Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve: close at 2pm
- Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day: closed
- All other days: usual hours
Wrapping paper and cardboard
The council’s advice is that wrapping paper and cards can only be recycled if they are not lined with foil or plastic and carry no glitter or batteries. Flatten cardboard boxes to make room in the blue-lidded bin.
It adds a warning worth repeating: the wrong items in a recycling bin can lead to the whole lorry load being rejected.
What is still to come
- The 2026 to 2027 revised dates. The council has not said when it will publish them. We will check again in mid-November and replace the table above as soon as the new one appears
- This winter’s tree collections by the hospice, Garsons and the scouts
- The 2027 collection calendar. The council no longer prints calendars; yours is shown when you check your collection day by postcode
Sources
- Christmas bin collection information, Elmbridge Borough Council, read 28 September 2026, for last year’s revised dates, tree recycling and recycling advice
- UK bank holidays, GOV.UK, for the 2026 and 2027 bank holiday dates
- Shepperton Community Recycling Centre, Surrey County Council, for the Christmas opening rules
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