Derby City Council is reminding residents about the temporary changes to bin collections that take place each year over the festive period. With no collections between Thursday 25 December and Thursday 1 January, some households will receive an earlier or later collection date. Residents are encouraged to check their specific collection days and plan ahead to help keep Derby tidy during this festive period. 

Festive collections are planned as follows:  

Tuesday 23 December – collected as normal 
Wednesday 24 December – collected as normal 
Thursday 25 December – collected early, on Monday 22 December 
Friday 26 December – collected one week later, on Friday 2 January 2026 
Collections return to normal from Tuesday 6 January 2026. 

Extra waste 

To help manage the increase in waste over Christmas, extra waste will be allowed in specific situations: 

Black bins: Up to three extra bags of non-recyclable waste will be accepted on the first collection in January.

Blue bins: Extra recycling can be presented year-round. Cardboard should be flattened and other recycling presented in clear bags next to your bin. If you have regular excess, request an extra blue bin.

Brown bins: No extra garden waste is accepted, but additional bins can be ordered or visits to Raynesway HWRC can be booked.  

Tips to reduce your festive waste

Christmas often brings more waste, but a few simple actions can make a big difference: 

  • Plan meals carefully and write a shopping list to avoid food waste and save money. Visit Love Food Hate Waste online for tips and recipes. 
  • Recycle right: Cards and wrapping with lots of glitter and embellishments cannot be recycled. Remove these before placing the card in the blue bin.
  • Flatten cardboard and squash bottles to save space in your bin.
  • Donate, sell or take unwanted items to the Reuse Raynesway shop instead of throwing them away.
  • Recycle electricals and batteries at the appropriate collection points or at Raynesway HWRC — never put them in your bins.
  • If your real tree has a trunk thinner than 12cm, place it in your brown bin, if larger,  book a drop-off at Raynesway HWRC.

Winter reminder: brown bin collections 

As a reminder, brown bins are collected less often from November 2025 to March 2026, reflecting lower garden waste during colder months. The regular fortnightly schedule will resume in March 2026. 

Cllr Ndukwe Onuoha, Cabinet Member for Streetpride, Parks and Leisure, said:

With the changes to collections over Christmas, it’s good to plan ahead and make the most of your last collection before the holidays. Wrapping and recycling early helps keep things running smoothly for everyone. The festive season is also a great time to think about reducing waste — by planning meals carefully, picking items which can be more easily recycled (think less glitter and embellishments!), recycling right, and reusing what we can, we’re all helping to keep Derby clean, green and ready for the new year.

Residents can check their individual collection dates using the Bin Day tool at secure.derby.gov.uk/binday or by calling 01332 640000. More information about recycling and festive waste at derby.gov.uk/bins.