Horsham skips Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, then catches up over three Saturdays. Last year's dates, garden waste and tip closures.

Horsham District Council has not yet published its bin collection arrangements for Christmas 2026. It has announced them in its November residents’ magazine for the last two years, and the pattern has barely changed in three: no collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day, crews working three Saturdays to catch up, and garden waste paused for two weeks. This page sets out what the council did last year and the two years before, what is different about the 2026 calendar, and when to expect this year’s dates.

The quick answer

  • 2026 dates are not out yet. The council published the 2025 arrangements in its November 2025 magazine, and a parish council was relaying them by 14 November. Expect this year’s in mid-November.
  • Last year: no collections on 25 December, 26 December or 1 January. Crews worked Saturday 27 December, Saturday 3 January and Saturday 10 January to catch up, and the normal schedule returned in the week of 12 January (Our District, November 2025).
  • Your own revised dates appear on your personalised calendar on the council’s check your bin collection day page and in the council app.

What happened last Christmas

The council’s November 2025 notice, word for word in substance (Our District, November 2025):

  • No collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day.
  • Crews worked Saturday 27 December and the additional Saturdays of 3 January and 10 January to catch up.
  • Waste and recycling were back to the normal schedule from the week commencing 12 January.
  • Garden waste was suspended from the week commencing 22 December and resumed on 6 January.
  • Dog bins and litter bins were emptied as normal through Christmas week.

West Grinstead Parish Council republished the same message on its website on 14 November 2025, which is a fair guide to when the council’s own announcement lands.

Three years of the same pattern

The council has run the same shape since at least 2023. Only the dates move with the calendar.

Horsham District Council Christmas bin arrangements, 2023/24 to 2025/26. Past years, not this year's dates.
ChristmasDays with no collectionCatch-up SaturdaysNormal schedule backGarden waste paused
2023/2425 Dec, 26 Dec, 1 Jan30 Dec, 6 Jan, 13 Janw/c 15 Januaryw/c 25 Dec to Tue 9 Jan
2024/2525 Dec, 26 Dec28 Dec, 4 Jan, 11 Janw/c 13 JanuaryFrom 23 Dec to Tue 7 Jan
2025/2625 Dec, 26 Dec, 1 Jan27 Dec, 3 Jan, 10 Janw/c 12 Januaryw/c 22 Dec to 6 Jan

Sources: Horsham District Council, 7 December 2023; Our District, November 2024; Our District, November 2025.

The 2024/25 notice listed only Christmas Day and Boxing Day as non-collection days; it did not mention New Year’s Day.

What is different about Christmas 2026

The bank holidays fall on Fridays and a Monday. Christmas Day is Friday 25 December 2026, the Boxing Day bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December because 26 December is a Saturday, and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027 (GOV.UK bank holidays). That is a different shape from last year’s Thursday and Friday, so do not copy last year’s Saturdays into your diary. Wait for the council’s notice or check your calendar.

Weekly food waste is new since last Christmas’s announcement. Food waste collections have now been rolled out across the district, collected weekly on the same day as your recycling or general waste bin, out by 6am (Horsham District Council, food waste). The council’s past Christmas notices said nothing specific about food caddies, so check how this year’s notice treats them. That is the question we will answer first when it is published.

Garden waste and your Christmas tree

Garden waste is a paid service at £64 a year for 25 collections, fortnightly “except at Christmas” in the council’s own words (garden waste collections). For the last three years the pause has lasted about two weeks, starting in the week before Christmas.

The council’s advice on a real tree is that it can go in your garden waste bin (Our District, November 2022). A tree too big for the bin can go to a recycling centre.

The tips over Christmas

West Sussex County Council runs the two recycling centres in the district, and both need a booked slot (Book to Recycle).

In 2026 that means Hop Oast, which would normally open on Fridays, loses both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day if last year’s closures are repeated. Billingshurst is closed on Fridays anyway. Both centre pages say winter hours run to 4pm from 1 October. Our Horsham bin collection days page covers what each centre takes.

Still to be confirmed

  • The 2026 catch-up Saturdays and the date normal collections resume. Expected in the council’s November magazine, around mid-November.
  • The garden waste pause dates, in the same notice.
  • Whether weekly food waste collections move with the rest.
  • The county’s Christmas closures for the recycling centres, usually in its late-September winter-hours announcement.

We will update this page when each is published.

Frequently asked questions

Are Horsham bins collected on Christmas Day?

Not in any of the last three years. The council’s 2023, 2024 and 2025 notices all said there would be no collections on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, and the 2023 and 2025 notices added New Year’s Day.

When will my bin be collected after Christmas in Horsham?

In 2025/26 the council caught up over three Saturdays (27 December, 3 January and 10 January) and was back to normal from the week of 12 January. Your own revised dates show on your postcode calendar on the council’s website once the 2026 schedule is set.

Is garden waste collected over Christmas in Horsham?

No. Garden waste is paused for about two weeks. Last year it stopped from the week commencing 22 December and resumed on 6 January.

Is Horsham tip open over Christmas?

Last year all West Sussex recycling centres were closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and open 9am to 4pm on their other days. You must book a slot before you go.

Sources

Checked against the council’s and county council’s own pages on 25 September 2026.