Harlow's 2026 Christmas bin dates are not out yet. Last year garden waste stopped for two weeks, one extra bag was taken and trees cost £2.90 to collect.

Harlow Council has not published its Christmas 2026 bin dates yet. When it does, they will not be on a list: the council puts revised dates on each address’s record in its self-service portal, so you have to look up your own street.

What the council has already published is last winter’s full Christmas notice, and it tells you most of what will matter this year.

The quick answer

  • Garden waste stops for about a fortnight. Last year there were no green waste collections between 22 December 2025 and 5 January 2026.
  • One extra bag of rubbish is taken, on your first non-recycling collection after Christmas.
  • A real tree collection costs £2.90 unless you already pay for garden waste, in which case it goes out free with your January collection.

What changes over Christmas

The council’s Christmas and new year information page, still showing the 2025/26 arrangements on 25 September 2026, sets out four bin rules.

  • Your dates move, and the portal has them. The page links to “Check your bin dates over Christmas”, which is the self-service portal, not a printed calendar.
  • One extra bag of non-recycling goes on your first non-recycling collection after Christmas.
  • Extra recycling goes out as normal. There is no limit mentioned for it.
  • Extra food waste can go in compostable liners on top of your caddy, or in a cardboard box.

If snow or ice disrupts the rounds, the council says to put bins out as normal and leave them until they are collected or you are told otherwise. Missed bins are reported online.

This year the bank holidays fall awkwardly. Christmas Day is Friday 25 December, the Boxing Day holiday moves to a substitute Monday 28 December, and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027 (GOV.UK). Three bank holidays across two working weeks usually pushes collections later, so check the portal rather than assuming your normal day.

Christmas trees

Real trees are collected in January. There are two routes, both on the council’s Christmas trees page:

If you… What to do Cost
Pay for the green waste subscription Put the tree next to your brown bin on your January collection day Included
Do not subscribe Book a real tree collection £2.90 a tree
Have an artificial tree Book a bulky waste collection Bulky waste charge

The council says the £2.90 tree fees go to the chair’s charities, split between Butterfly Effect WELLbeing and Mike’s Den, and that Veolia matches every donation. That is last year’s arrangement; the charities can change with a new chair.

Garden waste can also go to the Harlow Recycling Centre on Temple Bank. It shuts at 1pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and you need to book a slot.

When the council itself is shut

Most council services close between Christmas and New Year. Last year the contact centre closed at 12pm on Wednesday 24 December 2025 and reopened at 9am on Monday 5 January 2026, eleven days later.

  • Emergencies while it is closed: 01279 446666.
  • Paying bills: online, or the 24-hour automated line on 01279 446600.
  • Online services such as bulky waste bookings and noise or litter reports stay open.

Last year’s closure notice also gave festive dates for benefits and housing:

  • Benefit payments to claimants: 19 December, 29 December and 16 January.
  • Payments to landlords: 12 December and 10 January.
  • Harlow Homefinder bidding: a single cycle opened at 9.30am on 26 December and closed at 1am on 6 January.

Expect 2026 dates on a similar pattern, but none of them have been confirmed.

What is still to be confirmed

Detail 2025/26 2026/27
Revised collection dates On the portal Not published
Garden waste break 22 Dec to 5 Jan Not published
Contact centre closure 12pm 24 Dec to 9am 5 Jan Not published
Tree collection fee £2.90 Not published

We will check the council’s page again in late November and update this page when the 2026 dates appear. Normal collection days, flats and the garden waste subscription are on our Harlow bin collection days page.