Witney Christmas bin collections: which days move

West Oxfordshire District Council has not yet published its revised bin dates for Christmas 2026, but its own calendars already flag the weeks that will change. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day both fall on a Friday this year, so Friday households are the ones most likely to see their collection moved. Last winter every collection from Christmas Day onwards ran a day late for two weeks.

The quick answer

• Revised 2026 dates: not published yet. Last year’s appeared on the council’s bin day page in December.
• Last year, 22 to 24 December were collected as normal, and everything from Christmas Day to 9 January 2026 moved one day later.
• Garden waste stops over Christmas with no refund. Last year the break ran from 30 December to 12 January.

What the 2026 calendars already show

Every household’s 2026/27 waste calendar shades four dates in amber under the note “please check online to confirm seasonal changes”. The Friday 1 calendar shades Friday 25 December 2026 and Friday 1, 8 and 15 January 2027, and marks 25 December with an asterisk for no garden waste collection. The Monday 1 round’s shaded dates are 21 and 28 December and 4 and 11 January.

The shading is only in the colour, so it disappears if the PDF is read as text. The full breakdown of all ten rounds is on our Witney bin collection days page.

What happened last Christmas

These are the revised dates the council published for households for Christmas 2025, from its bin day page as captured on 27 December 2025. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fell on Thursdays.

The same page said: “Garden waste is suspended from Tuesday 30 December 2025 and will resume on Monday 12 January 2026.” The council’s business waste service followed the same table.

The pattern is the council’s usual one: no collections on the bank holidays, two Saturday catch-up days, and a knock-on of one day until the rounds are back in step. Bins must be out by 6am; the council reminds residents each year that crews on a revised timetable can arrive earlier than usual.

Garden waste and real Christmas trees

The garden waste subscription costs £52.50 a year and the terms say payment “does not guarantee you a specific number of collections per year”. The Christmas pause is part of that.

Real Christmas trees can go in the garden waste bin if cut into 2 to 3ft sections with the decorations removed, according to the council’s garden waste page. In past winters the council has also collected trees from every household, subscribers or not, for a few weeks after garden waste resumes; it has not yet said whether it will do so in January 2027.

The tip over Christmas

Dix Pit at Stanton Harcourt is the nearest household waste recycling centre. Oxfordshire County Council’s Dix Pit page says it is open Monday to Sunday, 8am to 5pm, shuts at 3pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Every visit has to be booked in advance, and fridge and freezer slots show only one week ahead. Charges and what the site takes are on our bin collection days page.

Still to be confirmed

• The revised dates for 25 December 2026 to mid January 2027. We will add them here when the council publishes them, and check again in early December.
• The garden waste break and any Christmas tree collection in January.

Related

• Witney bin collection days, costs and the tip
• Witney school term dates 2026/27
• Christmas trains and buses from Witney
• Roadworks and travel around Witney