Reigate & Banstead has not yet published its Christmas 2026 bin dates. Last year every collection moved one to three days, with Saturday catch-up rounds.

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council has not yet published its bin collection changes for Christmas and New Year 2026/27. We checked its website on 24 September 2026, and the old Christmas collections page now returns “Sorry, this page is no longer available”.

The council publishes late. Last year’s schedule went out on Monday 1 December 2025, and the one before that on Tuesday 28 November 2023. Until this year’s arrives, last year’s table is the best guide to what happens to your bin day.

The quick answer

  • 2026 dates are not out yet. Expect them in late November or the first days of December.
  • Last Christmas every collection from Christmas Day onwards moved by one to three days, and crews worked three Saturdays to catch up. Normal days came back on Monday 12 January 2026.
  • Garden waste stops for two weeks over Christmas. Real Christmas trees go out with the brown bin in January if you subscribe.

What changed last Christmas, day by day

These are the 2025/26 dates, not this year’s. They come from the council’s Christmas bin collections page as it stood on 11 December 2025 (Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, archived).

Reigate & Banstead household bin collections, Christmas 2025/26. Last year's pattern, not this year's dates.
Usual dayWeek from 22 DecWeek from 29 DecWeek from 5 Jan
MondayNo changeTuesdayTuesday
TuesdayNo changeWednesdayWednesday
WednesdayNo changeFridayThursday
ThursdaySaturdaySaturdayFriday
FridayMonday (29 Dec)Monday (5 Jan)Saturday

The council said there would be no collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day, and that crews would work on Saturday 27 December, Saturday 3 January and Saturday 10 January. Normal service resumed on Monday 12 January 2026.

One thing to watch: the council’s own page said all collections would be “three days later than usual”, but its table and its news release of 1 December 2025 both show a delay of one to three days depending on your usual day. Go by the table, or better, by your own address in the council’s lookup.

Why this Christmas will look different

The bank holidays fall on different days this year. Christmas Day is Friday 25 December 2026, the Boxing Day holiday moves to Monday 28 December, and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027 (GOV.UK).

Last year the holidays landed on a Thursday, a Friday and a Thursday. This year it is Friday, Monday and Friday, so the Friday and Monday rounds are the ones that lose a day. Do not copy last year’s table onto this year’s calendar.

The council has handled an awkward calendar before by moving collections earlier as well as later. In 2023, when Christmas Day was a Monday, the Horley area bins due that day were collected two days early, on Saturday 23 December, and everything else ran a day late until 8 January (Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, 28 November 2023).

Garden waste and Christmas trees

The garden waste service takes a two-week break every Christmas so crews can concentrate on household rubbish and recycling. In 2025 the last collection was Wednesday 24 December and the service came back on Thursday 8 January 2026 (Reigate and Banstead Borough Council).

  • If you subscribe to garden waste, put your real tree out beside your brown bin on your usual garden waste day in January, with all decorations removed.
  • If you do not subscribe, take the tree to a Surrey County Council community recycling centre. The nearest are Earlswood and Epsom, and their Christmas hours are on our Reigate tip opening times page.

Our main Reigate bin collection days page explains blue and green weeks and what the garden waste subscription costs.

What to do over the holidays

  • Check your own address. Use the council’s check your bin collection dates lookup, which shows every future date for your round.
  • Bins out by 6am. The council asked for this again last Christmas, when it said it collects over 30% more waste than usual at this time of year.
  • Expect the Town Hall to shut. Last year it closed from Wednesday 24 December to Monday 5 January, with phone lines open on 29, 30 and 31 December and 2 January (Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, archived December 2025).

Still to be confirmed

  • The 2026/27 revised collection table, expected late November or early December.
  • Which Saturdays crews will work.
  • The last garden waste collection before the break and the date it restarts.

We will replace last year’s table with this year’s the day the council publishes it.

Frequently asked questions

When are the Reigate Christmas bin collections 2026? Not published yet. Reigate & Banstead Borough Council had issued no 2026/27 festive schedule when we checked on 24 September 2026. It published on 1 December last year.

Will my bin day change over Christmas? Almost certainly, if your usual day falls on or after a bank holiday. Last year collections moved by one to three days from Christmas Day until 10 January.

Is garden waste collected over Christmas? No. The service stops for two weeks. In 2025/26 it paused after Christmas Eve and restarted on 8 January.

How do I get rid of my Christmas tree in Reigate? Garden waste subscribers leave it by the brown bin in January. Everyone else can take it to Earlswood or Epsom recycling centre.

Which days are bank holidays this Christmas? Friday 25 December 2026, Monday 28 December 2026 as the Boxing Day substitute, and Friday 1 January 2027.

Sources

Last checked 24 September 2026. No 2026/27 Christmas collection dates published yet.

More from Reigate News: bin collection days, tip opening times and Christmas trains and travel.