No Worthing bin rounds on bank holidays or weekends, and rounds slip on after each one. Last year's garden waste, tree and bulky dates, and when 2026's land.

Adur & Worthing Councils have not yet published their Christmas 2026 collection arrangements. Their Christmas page, checked on 25 September, still carries the 2025/26 dates. Last year’s version went up on 10 November, so expect this year’s in early to mid November.

The rules behind the dates do not change from year to year, and they already tell you most of what you need.

The quick answer

  • No bin collections on bank holidays or at weekends. In 2026 the bank holidays are Friday 25 December, Monday 28 December (the substitute Boxing Day) and Friday 1 January 2027.
  • Your collection day slips on after each bank holiday, so expect late collections from Christmas Day until the second week of January.
  • Garden waste stops over Christmas. Last year the final round was 24 December and it restarted on 13 January, the same day real Christmas trees started to be collected.

How Worthing’s Christmas collections work

The councils use what they call a “rollover day system”. Waste sites are closed on bank holidays, so no rounds run that day, and every collection after it moves along by a day. The councils say moving the days this way “ensures that the same group of residents are not always inconvenienced” (Adur & Worthing Councils, Christmas and New Year).

The same page says there are no collections at weekends either, and it asks residents to check which bin is due over the holiday using the bin day look-up or the councils’ app, rather than assuming.

This year the calendar is awkward. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day both fall on a Friday, and Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December (GOV.UK bank holidays). That is three weekdays lost across two weeks, with a weekend either side of each. The councils have not said how the rounds will be moved to fit round them.

What happened last year, and the year before

These are not this year’s dates. They show the pattern the councils have kept to.

Adur & Worthing Christmas arrangements for the last two years, from the councils' own Christmas page
Service2024/252025/26
No refuse or recycling collectionsWed 25 Dec, Thu 26 Dec, Wed 1 Jan, and weekendsThu 25 Dec, Fri 26 Dec, Thu 1 Jan, and weekends
Last garden waste collectionTue 24 DecWed 24 Dec
Garden waste restartsMon 13 JanTue 13 Jan
Real Christmas trees collected fromMon 13 JanTue 13 Jan
Last bulky waste collectionTue 24 DecWed 24 Dec
Bulky waste restarts, by appointmentThu 2 JanMon 5 Jan

The 2025/26 figures are from the councils’ current page (Adur & Worthing Councils). The 2024/25 figures are from the same page as it stood in January 2025 (archived 12 January 2025).

Garden waste is the service most affected. Both years it ran for the last time on Christmas Eve and did not return until 13 January, a gap of nearly three weeks. The garden waste subscription covers 50 collections a year for that reason, as we explain on our Worthing bin collection days page.

Christmas trees

Last year real trees were collected from 13 January. The councils’ instructions were:

  • put the tree next to your wheelie bins by 6.30am on your next collection day after that date, whether that is a recycling or a refuse day
  • cut big trees into smaller pieces if you can
  • take off every decoration, bauble, piece of tinsel and the lights
  • in flats with a communal bin area, leave the tree at the end of the entrance path, near but not on the pavement, and not in the bin store

(Adur & Worthing Councils, real Christmas tree collections)

Extra rubbish and recycling

The councils collect extra recycling left beside your recycling bin at any time of year, as long as it is contained so it cannot get wet or blow about. Over Christmas they also take a “reasonable amount” of extra general waste. Last year that ran up to and including Monday 12 January.

  • Food waste in extra sacks should go inside the bin if at all possible, to keep vermin off it.
  • Other extra waste can go in bags on the ground next to the bin.
  • Wrapping paper can be recycled only if it is paper. Scrunch it: if it stays scrunched it can go in, if it springs open it contains plastic and goes in the general waste. Take off tape and bows first.
  • Foil trays, pudding bowls, cream pots and biscuit or sweet tins can all be recycled, clean, dry and loose.

(Adur & Worthing Councils)

The new food waste bin

This will be the first Christmas for Worthing’s weekly food waste collection, which started rolling out in stages from September (Adur & Worthing Councils, 3 August 2026). The food bin is emptied on the same day as your recycling or general waste, so it should follow the same bank holiday slip. The councils have not yet said so for Christmas. Our food waste collections page covers what can go in it.

If you would rather take it to the tip

The tips are run by West Sussex County Council, not by Adur & Worthing. Last Christmas every West Sussex recycling centre was closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and you must book a slot to drive in. Opening days, booking rules and what you can take are on our Worthing tip opening times page.

Still to be confirmed

  • The 2026/27 collection arrangements, expected on the councils’ Christmas page in early to mid November. We will update this page when they appear.
  • Garden waste and Christmas tree dates for January 2027.
  • Whether food waste follows the same changes as refuse and recycling.

Frequently asked questions

Are Worthing bins collected on Christmas Day?

No. Adur & Worthing Councils do not collect on bank holidays or at weekends. In 2026 that means no rounds on Friday 25 December, Monday 28 December or Friday 1 January.

Will my bin day change over Christmas in Worthing?

Very likely. The councils’ rule is that your normal collection day slips on after each bank holiday. Check your address on the councils’ bin day look-up once the 2026 dates are published.

When is the last garden waste collection before Christmas?

In both 2024 and 2025 it was 24 December, with collections restarting on 13 January. The 2026 dates have not been published.

When are Christmas trees collected in Worthing?

Last year from Tuesday 13 January. Put the tree out beside your bins by 6.30am on your next collection day after the start date, with all decorations removed.

When will the 2026 Christmas bin dates be published?

The 2025/26 dates were on the councils’ Christmas page by 10 November 2025. Expect this year’s in early to mid November.

Sources