Haringey has not published its Christmas 2026 bin dates. Last year only Christmas and New Year rounds moved, a day or two later. Tree collection and tip hours.
Haringey Council has not yet published its Christmas and New Year collection dates for 2026. Last year it did not publish them until 22 December, three days before Christmas, so expect a late announcement again. This page sets out what happened last year, what is already fixed for this year, and where the tree collection and the recycling centre fit in.
The quick answer
- 2026 dates: not published yet. In 2025 the council announced them on 22 December 2025.
- Last year only the bank holiday rounds moved, each by a day or two: Christmas Day to Saturday 27 December, Boxing Day to Sunday 28 December, New Year’s Day to Friday 2 January and Friday 2 January to Saturday 3 January.
- Western Road recycling centre shuts on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and is open 9am to 4pm every other day.
What Haringey did last Christmas
The council’s Christmas and New Year services notice, published on 22 December 2025, said there would be “no change to the usual bin collection days” apart from the two bank holidays in each week. These are last year’s dates, not this year’s.
| Normal collection day | Collected on |
|---|---|
| Monday 22 to Wednesday 24 December 2025 | No change |
| Thursday 25 December (Christmas Day) | Saturday 27 December |
| Friday 26 December (Boxing Day) | Sunday 28 December |
| Monday 29 to Wednesday 31 December | No change |
| Thursday 1 January 2026 (New Year's Day) | Friday 2 January |
| Friday 2 January | Saturday 3 January |
The shape is worth knowing. Haringey did not slide the whole of Christmas week along by a day. It left Monday to Wednesday alone and used the weekend to catch up the two lost days.
It did the same the year before. The council’s Christmas rubbish page for 2024/25, archived on 27 December 2024, said collections would be “later than normal” and set out this table.
| Normal collection day | Collected on |
|---|---|
| Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 December 2024 | No change |
| Wednesday 25 December (Christmas Day) | Friday 27 December |
| Thursday 26 December (Boxing Day) | Saturday 28 December |
| Friday 27 December | Sunday 29 December |
| Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 December | No change |
| Wednesday 1 January 2025 (New Year's Day) | Thursday 2 January |
| Thursday 2 January | Friday 3 January |
| Friday 3 January | Saturday 4 January |
Normal collections resumed on Monday 6 January 2025. Both years point the same way: days before the bank holiday stay put, the bank holiday and the days after it in the same week move later, and Saturday or Sunday takes the overflow.
Why 2026 is harder
The bank holidays fall differently this year. According to GOV.UK’s bank holiday list:
- Christmas Day is Friday 25 December 2026.
- Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December.
- New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027.
Haringey’s contractor Veolia publishes a standing rule on its Haringey refuse page: no collections on a bank holiday Monday or Friday, a Friday round moves to the Saturday, and after a bank holiday Monday the whole week runs a day late, Tuesday to Saturday.
If the council follows that rule, Friday 25 December rounds would go on Saturday 26 December, the week of 28 December would run Tuesday to Saturday, and Friday 1 January rounds would go on Saturday 2 January. That is the rule applied to the calendar, not a published schedule. Last Christmas the council departed from it by using a Sunday, so wait for the notice before relying on it.
Our bin collection days page has the bin colours, the 6am rule and how the bank holiday shift works the rest of the year.
Christmas trees: collected free
Haringey’s Christmas tree recycling page gives four ways to get rid of a real tree. Take off all the lights and decorations first.
- From your front garden. Leave it next to your bins on collection day and the food and garden waste crew takes it for free. A tree over 1 metre (3 feet) has to be cut in half or it will not be collected.
- Beside communal bins, until the end of January, cut in half if over 1 metre. Never down a rubbish chute.
- At a park drop-off point. Last winter these ran from 26 December 2025 to 12 January 2026 at five parks, including Priory Park (the old bowling green, Priory Road main entrance) and Finsbury Park (Endymion Road entrance, on the left). The others were Bruce Castle Park, Downhills Park and OR Tambo Recreation Ground.
- At the Gardens community garden, Doncaster Gardens N4 1HX, which ran a drop-off from 3 to 24 January 2026, 9am to 4pm, for residents only.
The park dates on the council’s page are still last winter’s. Expect new ones in December.
The recycling centre over Christmas
Western Road Reuse and Recycling Centre, Western Road N22 6XJ, is open 9am to 4pm seven days a week, including bank holidays, and closed only on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, according to the North London Waste Authority, which runs it.
- No booking for a car, bike or on foot.
- Vans, trailers and pick-ups must book through the NLWA van booking system.
- Arrive 15 minutes before closing with a big load, or behind a queue, and you will be turned away.
- Enter from Coburg Road only, turning left off Western Road.
Whether the centre treats Monday 28 December, the substitute Boxing Day, as a closure day is not stated yet. The NLWA wording says “Boxing Day”. Check the NLWA page before driving over that day.
What is still to be confirmed
- The 2026 collection changes. Haringey published last year’s on 22 December. We will add this year’s the day they appear.
- The 2026/27 park tree drop-off dates. Due in December.
- Monday 28 December at Western Road. Whether the substitute bank holiday counts as Boxing Day for the closure.
If you are heading into town in Christmas week, the Crouch End roadworks page and parking page have the latest on the roads.
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