There are changes to some of the rounds at ChristmasFile photo of bin men collecting recycling(Image: Donna Clifford/GrimsbyLive)

Manchester council has confirmed its bin collection schedule for the 2025 Christmas and New Year period, and there are some changes residents need to be aware of.

Bank holidays for Christmas Day and Boxing Day, on a Thursday and Friday this year, have disrupted the usual working patterns of bin men in the city. New Year’s Day is also on a Thursday this winter, also changing the schedule.

The council has now clarified when bins will be collected and issued extensive advice on how Mancs can recycle their Christmas trees, cardboard, plastic, leftover food, and electrical items.

Most bin days will not change, the authority says, with collections on December 22, 23, 24, and 30 going ahead as normal, so if your bins were usually picked up on a Wednesday, they will still be collected on Wednesdays around Christmas, including Christmas Eve.

Collections on Thursdays will move to the following Saturday (e.g. Christmas Day rounds will take place on December 27), and Friday’s schedule will take place on the following weekend.

A full schedule of Manchester bin collections is available below, along with recycling advice.

Bin collection days

  • No change to collections on Monday, December 22 and Monday, December 29.
  • No change to collections on Tuesday, December 23 and Tuesday, December 30.
  • No change to collections on Christmas Eve (Wednesday, December 24) and New Year’s Eve (Wednesday December, 31).
  • Thursday collections move from Christmas Day (Thursday, December 25) to Saturday, December 27 and from New Year’s Day (Thursday, January 1) to Friday, January 2.
  • Friday collections move from Boxing Day (Friday, December 26) to Sunday, December 28 and from Friday, January 2 to Saturday, January 3.

You can use the council’s website to check your bin days here.

Christmas trees

Only real Christmas trees can be recycled. To do so, you must remove any lights, decorations, and stands or bases.

If you make a donation to charity Just Helping, staff come and collect your real tree from your home in January, with proceeds going to good causes like Moya Cole Hospice (previously St Anne’s Hospice), Francis House, and We Love Manchester. You need to book ahead with Just Helping.

Real trees can also be recycled in your normal council green bin, if you chop it up and put the pieces into the green bin for a January collection.

Several drop-off sites have also been created so you can recycle your tree in January. They are:

City centre residents can take their real trees to:

Apartment-dwellers can also arrange a collection of their tree by speaking to their building manager, or emailing Christmas.Tree.Manchester@biffa.co.uk with your name and address, a description of the location where you’ll leave the tree and when you’ll be putting it there. You cannot leave your tree behind any locked doors or gates.

Cardboard and paper

Cardboard and paper should go in your blue recycling bin. You need to crush or flatten boxes and remove any plastic packaging, bubble wrap and polystyrene first — which should go in your grey general waste bin.

Most Christmas cards and wrapping paper can be recycled in your blue bin, and they can also be taken to the tip. However, they need to be made entirely of paper — a handy tip is to scrunch up some wrapping paper into a ball. If it stays scrunched-up, it can be recycled.

Wrapping paper with foil or plastic on, usually for glitter or sparkly shapes, cannot be recycled and needs to be put into the grey general waste bin.

Food

Christmas food leftovers, including meat bones, can be put in the green caddy or bin if packaging is removed.

Foil trays can be recycled with any other foil in the brown recycling bin.

Plastic and glass

Most plastics can be recycled if they’re emptied before going in the brown bin, including plastic tubs (like those used for chocolates), plastic trays (used to hold meat and fruit punnets), foil trays, drinks cans, glass bottles, and glass jars.

However, some plastics cannot be recycled like plastic film, carrier bags, crisp packets or pet food pouches so they should go in the grey bin.

Electricals

Usually, electrical items cannot be recycled. So Christmas lights and batteries need to be taken to the tip. Batteries can be given to a supermarket.