The Royal Borough has not published its Christmas 2026 bin dates. Last year every round from 25 December moved, and normal days only returned on 19 January.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has not yet published its Christmas and New Year bin collection dates for 2026/27. We checked its holiday collections page on 25 September and it carries no festive table at all (holiday collection dates).
What is clear from the last two years is how long the disruption lasts. Last winter every round from Christmas Day onwards moved, and normal collection days did not come back until Monday 19 January 2026.
The quick answer
- 2026 dates: not published yet. The council posts them on its holiday collections page, usually by December.
- Last year, every round from Thursday 25 December 2025 moved later, by between two and four days at first, then one day into mid-January.
- Bank holidays are normal collection days all year except Christmas and New Year, so nothing before 25 December should move.
What is already settled for this Christmas
- Christmas and New Year are the only bank holidays that move your bin day. The council’s own wording: “We are now collecting on Bank Holiday dates (excluding Christmas and New Year)” (Royal Borough).
- The holidays fall on Fridays this year. Christmas Day is Friday 25 December 2026, the Boxing Day bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December, and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027 (Royal Borough term dates page, bank holiday list).
- Garden waste stops for two to three weeks over Christmas and New Year. That is written into the subscription terms, not the holiday page (green garden waste terms and conditions).
- Bins go out by 7am on the collection day, and no earlier than the night before. Only what is inside the bin is taken.
Last year’s changes, 2025/26
These are not this year’s dates. Christmas Day fell on a Thursday last year, not a Friday, so the 2026 table will be different. It is here to show how far the council pushes rounds and for how long. The table was on the council’s page by February 2026 and was not on it on 8 October 2025 (Royal Borough, archived 7 February 2026).
| Usual collection day | Revised collection day, 2025/26 |
|---|---|
| Thursday 25 December | Monday 29 December |
| Friday 26 December | Tuesday 30 December |
| Monday 29 December | Wednesday 31 December |
| Tuesday 30 December | Friday 2 January |
| Wednesday 31 December | Saturday 3 January |
| Thursday 1 January | Monday 5 January |
| Friday 2 January | Tuesday 6 January |
| Monday 5 January | Wednesday 7 January |
| Tuesday 6 January | Thursday 8 January |
| Wednesday 7 January | Friday 9 January |
| Thursday 8 January | Saturday 10 January |
| Friday 9 January | Monday 12 January |
| Monday 12 January | Tuesday 13 January |
| Tuesday 13 January | Wednesday 14 January |
| Wednesday 14 January | Thursday 15 January |
| Thursday 15 January | Friday 16 January |
| Friday 16 January | Saturday 17 January |
Normal collections resumed on Monday 19 January 2026. Monday to Wednesday rounds in the week before Christmas did not move, because the first affected day was Christmas Day itself.
The year before, 2024/25
In 2024/25 Christmas Day was a Wednesday. The council moved every round from 25 December by one to three days, used two Saturdays (28 December and 4 January), and was back to normal from Monday 13 January 2025. Garden waste was suspended from Friday 27 December 2024 to Sunday 12 January 2025 (Royal Borough, archived 12 February 2025).
Two years of the same shape suggest what to plan for: Saturday collections, a two-to-three-week tail into January, and the garden bin standing idle for roughly a fortnight.
Christmas trees and extra rubbish
- Real Christmas trees go in the green garden waste bin in January, cut up and inside the bin with the lid closed. A tree left beside the bin is not taken (green garden waste terms).
- Extra rubbish and recycling can go to the borough’s only tip at Stafferton Way, Maidenhead. It shuts on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day; hours and the proof-of-address rule are on our bin collection days page.
- Side waste is not collected. One flattened cardboard box next to the blue bin is the only exception.
Still to be confirmed
The 2026/27 revised timetable and the garden waste suspension dates. We will add them here as soon as the council publishes them, and check again in early November. For your normal day, use the council’s find your bin day tool. For Christmas getting about, see roadworks and travel and parking in Windsor.
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