Waste and recycling arrangements this Christmas

With the festive season fast approaching, West Northamptonshire Council is advising residents of the arrangements for waste and recycling collections over the Christmas and New Year period.

 

Collection changes

The public holidays will affect households on a Thursday or Friday bin collection this year, as follows:

Daventry area

  • Collections due Thursday 25 December will take place on Saturday 27 December
  • Collections due Friday 26 December will take place on Sunday 28 December
  • Collections due Thursday 1 January will take place on Saturday 3 January.

South Northants area

  • Collections due Thursday 25 December will take place on Saturday 27 December
  • Collections due Friday 26 December will take place on Monday 29 December
  • Collections due Thursday 1 January will take place on Saturday 3 January.

Northampton area

  • Collections due Thursday 25 December will take place on Saturday 27 December
  • Collections due Thursday 1 January will take place on Saturday 3 January.

 

Garden waste

Subscribers are advised there will be a short break in the garden waste collection service, which will be suspended from Monday 22 December through to Sunday 4 January. It will resume its usual schedule from the week beginning Monday 5 January.

 

Household Waste Recycling Centres  

Recycling centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day, and will close early on Christmas Eve, at 2pm.

With those exceptions they will be open from 10am to 4pm as usual, offering a great way to dispose of a range of materials, from excess household waste, to recycling and larger items that can’t be collected as part of your kerbside collection service.

Please remember if you are visiting any of our sites on or after 3 November 2025, you must book a slot in advance. Find out more information about the booking system

 

Additional recycling  

If you have more recycling than your bin can handle, you can put it in clear plastic bags or boxes and present it alongside your recycling bins or boxes. You can also take this to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre  

 

Real tree collections  

Crews will collect real Christmas trees from Monday 5 January through to Friday 16 January. You do not need a garden waste subscription to take advantage of this.  

Residents in the Daventry and South Northants areas should put real Christmas trees out on the day garden waste is due to be collected in their area.  

In the Northampton area trees should be put out next to recycling bins, while those on sack collections can present trees beside their recycling boxes.  

Please ensure trees over 6ft tall are cut in half so they fit in the lorries safely. They can also be taken to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre

 

Food waste  

Food waste bins will continue to be collected on their usual weekly schedule. Please remember you can recycle leftover raw and cooked foods, including veg peelings, egg shells, out-of-date food, plate scrapings, solid fats, meat and fish bones.

Do not put in any liquids and don’t forget that when it comes to lining your caddy - any bag will do! Find out how to make the most of your food waste collection service

 

Keep on top of collections   

Downloadable bin calendars with information about waste and recycling arrangements for your area will be available from the Bins, Recycling and Waste pages of West Northamptonshire Council’s website in November.

You can check your collection day and set up alerts on your mobile by downloading the free West Northamptonshire Council app from the Apple or Google Play stores  

Find more information about collections together with top tips for reducing your waste and recycling more this Christmas on the Council’s waste and recycling pages