Enfield Council has not published its Christmas 2026 bin dates yet. When it announced last year's, what moved in 2024/25, and how to recycle your tree.
Enfield Council has not published its Christmas and New Year collection changes for 2026/27. We checked its rubbish and recycling pages on 25 September 2026 and the most recent festive schedule the council still hosts is the 2024/25 one, held in the web archive. Last year’s was announced on 16 December, so expect the 2026/27 dates in the first half of December.
The one rule already fixed is the council’s own: Enfield collects on the same day each week, bank holidays included, and “the only exception is Christmas and New Year, when collection days may change” (Enfield Council).
The quick answer
Christmas 2026 dates are not published yet. Enfield announced its 2025/26 changes on 16 December 2025, so the 2026/27 schedule is expected in early to mid December. Only collections due on the three bank holidays and the days after them tend to move. In 2024/25 Monday and Tuesday rounds were untouched and every other day from Christmas Day onwards slipped by one or two days, with Saturday and Sunday catch-up rounds. Real Christmas trees go in the green bin if you pay for garden waste, or to the North London Hospice collection, which last year could be booked until midnight on 4 January.
The bank holidays this Christmas
The shape of the disruption depends on where the bank holidays fall. This year they fall badly for a Friday round.
| Date | Bank holiday |
|---|---|
| Friday 25 December 2026 | Christmas Day |
| Monday 28 December 2026 | Boxing Day, substitute day |
| Friday 1 January 2027 | New Year’s Day |
Source: GOV.UK bank holidays. Boxing Day itself is Saturday 26 December, so its bank holiday moves to the Monday.
If the council follows its usual approach, households whose bin day is a Friday are the ones to watch. Both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are Fridays, and the Monday after Christmas is also a bank holiday. In 2024/25 the council did not collect on any bank holiday over Christmas.
What happened in 2024/25, the last schedule the council still shows
The council’s 2024/25 festive page, captured by the web archive on 5 December 2024, listed six changes. These are last year but one’s dates, not this year’s. They are here because the pattern is consistent and it tells you roughly what to expect.
| If your collection was due on | It was collected on |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 25 December 2024 | Friday 27 December 2024 |
| Thursday 26 December 2024 | Saturday 28 December 2024 |
| Friday 27 December 2024 | Sunday 29 December 2024 |
| Wednesday 1 January 2025 | Thursday 2 January 2025 |
| Thursday 2 January 2025 | Friday 3 January 2025 |
| Friday 3 January 2025 | Saturday 4 January 2025 |
Source: Enfield Council, archived 5 December 2024. Collections due on Monday 23, Tuesday 24, Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 December were not listed, so they ran as normal.
Three things stand out from that table:
- The slip was short. Two days at most in Christmas week, one day in New Year week, and the council used Saturday and Sunday rounds to catch up rather than pushing everything into January.
- Normal days were back within a fortnight. Nothing was listed beyond Saturday 4 January.
- The crews worked the weekend after Christmas. If the same happens this year, bins due on Friday 25 December could be collected on Sunday 27 December, and Friday 1 January’s on Saturday 2 or Sunday 3 January. That is our reading of the pattern, not a council statement.
For 2025/26 the council announced changes to “rubbish, recycling, food and paid for garden waste collection days” on 16 December 2025 (Enfield Council on X). The document it linked to has since been removed from the council website, so we cannot reproduce those dates here.
Put bins out early, and expect an earlier deadline
On a normal week bins must be at the edge of your property by 5.30am (Enfield Council). Over Christmas the revised day may be a weekend, and crews start early to fit the extra rounds in, so treat the revised day as a normal one and have the bin out the night before.
If a collection is missed, the council asks you to report it within 24 hours of the scheduled day, and it will not return if the bin was not out in time. Our Enfield bin collection days page covers the reporting rules, the four bins and what each takes.
Garden waste over Christmas
The garden waste service is a paid subscription, and its terms say collections “may be changed, due to bank holidays, seasonal holidays and some unforeseen circumstances” (garden waste terms, clause 3.15). The council’s 16 December 2025 announcement covered garden waste days as well as rubbish, recycling and food, so subscribers should check the schedule when it appears rather than assume the green bin runs through the holiday.
Christmas trees: three routes
Green bin. Real Christmas trees are on the council’s list of what can go in the garden waste bin, decorations removed (what goes in your green bin). In 2024/25 the council asked for trees taller than six feet to be cut into pieces first (archived festive page).
North London Hospice collection. The council partners with North London Hospice, whose volunteers collect real trees for a donation to the charity. The scheme covers postcodes N2, N3, N9, N11, N12, N13, N14, N18, N20, N21, NW11, EN1, EN2, EN3, EN4, EN5, EN6 and EN8. You register the tree with Just Helping, giving your name, the tree’s size and where you will leave it. Decorations off, real trees only, and there is no need to cut it up (Christmas tree collections). For January 2026 the council said bookings were open “until midnight on Sunday 4 January 2026” (Enfield Council on X, 10 December 2025) and that volunteers would collect between Wednesday 7 and Friday 9 January (Enfield Council on Facebook). The council’s page currently shows bookings as closed; that notice should lift when the 2027 round opens.
Take it yourself. Both recycling centres accept real trees. Barrowell Green needs a booked slot for any vehicle and is closed on Mondays; Edmonton EcoPark takes cars without an appointment. Hours, including the festive closures, are on our Enfield tip opening times page. In January 2025 the council also accepted trees at ten parks, including Trent Park, Grovelands Park, Town Park and Firs Farm, until 12 January. It has not said whether that repeats.
What is still to be confirmed
- The 2026/27 revised collection days. Expected from Enfield Council in early to mid December 2026. This page will be updated the day they appear.
- Whether garden waste pauses, and for how long.
- The tree collection window for January 2027 and whether the park drop-off points return.
Roads around Enfield Town and Edmonton Green are busier in the run-up to Christmas; our Enfield roadworks and travel page has the current closures and parking in Enfield explains which car parks are free on bank holidays.
Frequently asked questions
When are Enfield’s Christmas bin collections 2026? Not published yet. Enfield Council announced its 2025/26 changes on 16 December 2025 and its 2024/25 page was live by 5 December 2024, so expect the 2026/27 dates in early to mid December.
Does Enfield collect bins on bank holidays? Yes, on every bank holiday except over Christmas and New Year, which the council names as the only exception (Enfield Council).
Which days moved last time? In 2024/25, collections due on 25, 26 and 27 December and on 1, 2 and 3 January each moved by one or two days, with Saturday and Sunday rounds used to catch up. Monday and Tuesday collections did not change.
How do I get rid of a real Christmas tree in Enfield? Put it in your green bin if you subscribe to garden waste, book the North London Hospice collection for a donation, or take it to Barrowell Green or Edmonton EcoPark.
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