Everything you need to know about Christmas collections in Bolton, Bury, Wigan, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford.

07:54, 26 Dec 2025Updated 07:54, 26 Dec 2025

There will be changes to some bin collections between now and 2026(Image: Huddersfield Examiner)

Christmas Day is over. And what’s usually left is a load of rubbish.

With Boxing Day, many across Greater Manchester will be wondering how to best get rid of the piles of wrapping paper, leftover food and discarded boxes amassed on December 25. Luckily for them, councils across region have announced their plans for bin collections over the festive season.

Due to the Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s bank holidays all falling during the week, there will be changes to most collection dates this year. Authorities throughout Greater Manchester have confirmed replacement pick-up dates for general waste and recycling.

Councils are also encouraging people to recycle as much as possible. And some have given tips on how to dispose of your Christmas trees after the big day.

A change in recycling rules introduced in 2024 means that pots, tubs and trays are now accepted in mixed recycling in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford.

Many changes will remain in place through to the new year, to take into account the New Year’s Day bank holiday on January 1, 2026.

Here is a breakdown of each borough’s bin collection changes:

TAMESIDE

There will be no collections on the bank holiday days of December 25, 26 and January 1.

The changes are as follows:

  • If you are due a green (general waste) bin collection on Thursday, December 25, it will be collected on Monday, December 29. If you are due a black (comingled recycling waste) or a blue (paper recycling waste) bin collection, it will be collected on Wednesday, December 31.
  • If you are due a green bin collection on Friday, December 26, it will be collected on December 30 instead. If you are due a black or a blue bin collection, it will be collected on Friday, January 2.
  • If you are due a green bin collection on New Year’s Day, it will be collected on Monday, January 5. If you are due a black or a blue bin collection on January 1, it will be collected on Tuesday, January 6 instead.

All other green, black and blue bin collections are due to run as normal over the festive period. The Tameside bin app can be downloaded for free, which can be used to check the date of collections, set reminders and report missed/lost bins.

Real Christmas trees can be recycled in aid of Willow Wood Hospice, between January 5 and January 9, where your tree will be taken away with no hassle. Register your real Christmas tree to be collected by visiting www.just-helping.org.uk/register-tree.

Simply enter your postcode and submit your details via the online form. Registration closes at midnight on 4 January 4, 2026.

BURY

Residents have been reminded that over the festive period, brown bin collections are paused from December 22 to January 4, and during the same period, collection dates for grey, green and blue bins will change for most households.

The changes are summarised here:

  • Friday, December 26 will change to Monday, December 26
  • Tuesday, December 30 (no change)
  • Wednesday, December 31 (no change)
  • Thursday, January 1 will change to Friday, January 2
  • Friday, January 2 will change to Saturday, January 3

Bins should be put out at the usual collection point by 7am, and all waste must fit inside the bins with the lids fully closed. While extra bags of waste cannot be collected, they can be taken to the household waste and recycling centres, which are open every day except December 25 and January 1.

Brown bin collections will be on hold due to reduced garden waste at this time of year, which also allows collection crews to concentrate on emptying the other bins, which can fill-up more quickly at this time of year.

OLDHAM

The council is encouraging Oldham residents to give bin crew ‘a wave or thank you’ as they ‘work hard through the holidays to keep things running smoothly’.

Here’s everything you need to know about bin collections over the festive period:

Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25th

  • Blue bins will be collected on Monday, December 29th
  • Grey bins will be collected on Tuesday, December 30th
  • Brown bins will be collected on Wednesday, December 31st
  • Green bins and food caddies will be collected on Saturday, January 3rd

Boxing Day, Friday, December 26th

  • Blue, grey and brown bins will resume normal collection after the holiday period
  • Green bins and food caddies will resume as usual on Friday, January 2nd

New Years Eve period, December 29th until December 31st

  • Blue, grey and brown bins will all be collected as normal
  • Green bins and food caddies will be collected a week earlier (up until December 24th) and again a week later between January 5th and 7th

New Years Day, Thursday, January 1st

  • All bins will be collected on Saturday, January 3rd

Disposing of real Christmas trees

The council has also given extra tips on how to dispose of Christmas trees once the decorations have come down after Christmas. For those with green bins, it’s possible to simply chop up the tree and dispose it in the green bin. That’s as long as the largest part of the trunk from the base of the tree has been removed, as this can’t be composted, and all lights and decorations have been removed.

Alternatively, residents can take it to Arkwright Street Household Waste and Recycling Centre, along with any extra Christmas waste, or leave it at a collection points in the following parks (from December 28 to January 7):

  • Higher Memorial Park (car park), Joseph Street, Failsworth (open 7.30am until dusk)
  • Royton Park (car park) off Bleasdale Street, Royton. (open 7.30am until dusk)
  • Werneth Park (car park) off Frederick Street, Werneth (open 7.30am until dusk)
  • Churchill Playing Fields (car park), Wellington Road, Greenfield. Anytime access.
  • George Street Playing Fields (car park), off Milnrow Road, Shaw. Anytime access.

MANCHESTER

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.

ROCHDALE

Bin collections over the Christmas and New Year period will be as follows:

  • Thursday, 25 December 2025 (Christmas Day) – your bin collection will move to Saturday, 27 December 2025
  • Friday, 26 December 2025 (Boxing Day) – your bin collection will move to Monday, 29 December 2025
  • Thursday, 1 January 2026 – your bin collection will move to Saturday, 3 January 2026

Please note the council will collect some additional recycling:

  • On your scheduled recycling collection day you can leave additional mixed recycling waste, that usually goes in your light green bin with blue lid. You must leave this for collection in an open container where we can easily see the contents, and leave this by the side of your mixed recycling bin.
  • You can also leave out a small amount of dry flat packed cardboard boxes, that usually go in your blue bin, if they are too big to fit in your paper bin. Please fold them to make them as manageable as possible for us, remove all polystyrene packaging, and leave then next to your paper bin on your scheduled recycling collection day. The council will not be able to collect any wet cardboard as our supplier will not accept this for recycling or any polystyrene packaging.
  • You cannot leave out any additional bags of general waste. The council will not collect these and you must take these to one of our recycling centres. Both recycling centres (tips) at Chichester Street in Rochdale and Spring Vale in Middleton are open every day apart from Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

STOCKPORT

There may be changes to your bin collection day over the Christmas and new year holiday period. To find out when your bin will be collected, check your bin calendar at home or visit https://orlo.uk/QLUZD – which will show the correct dates for your Christmas bin collections.Green bins will not be collected from 25 December 2025 to 1 January 2026.And when Christmas is over, it’s easy to recycle your real Christmas tree with Just Helping to support local charities. Register your tree here – https://orlo.uk/dkds3 – for collection by 5 January 2026.

TRAFFORD

Green bins

There will be no green bin collections during Christmas week. Any green bins presented from Monday 22 to Friday 26 December will not be collected.

The green bin collection service will resume from Monday 29 December.

SALFORD

There are some changes to your bin collection days during the festive period.

If your pink lidded bin or food caddy has not been emptied on your normal collection day please accept our apologies. This is due to operational staff issues over the Christmas period. Please take your bin or caddy back in and place out again on your next scheduled collection day when we will be able to return and empty it.

Don’t forget to recycle your wrapping paper, tinfoil, bottles, cans, your Christmas tree and left-over food.

Christmas trees

  • You can take your artificial Christmas trees to your local household and recycling centre.
  • You can recycle your real Christmas tree either:
  • By taking it to your local household and recycling centre,
  • By chopping it into pieces and put them in your food and garden pink lidded bin. Please take off the base or wooden block if your tree has one and make sure the trunk is not thicker than your wrist. Wood thicker than your wrist is too big and can’t be put in your pink lidded food and garden bin. You can take large trunks and wooden bases to your local recycling centre, OR
  • By arranging for it to be collected and recycled by the Just Helping Charity. Go to just-helping.org.uk/register-tree for details.

Household recycling centres

Your local recycling centres will all be open except on Christmas Day (Thursday 25 December 2025) and New Year’s Day (Thursday 1 January 2026) when they will be closed. Please check holiday opening times on the Recycle for Greater Manchester site before you visit.

  • Brindle Heath, Cobden Street, Salford, M6 6NA
  • Lumns Lane, Swinton, M27 8LN
  • Boysnope Wharf, Irlam, M30 7RH
  • Salford Road Recycling Centre, Salford Road, Bolton, BL5 1DG

WIGAN

The changes for people living in Wigan are as follows.

For those who have Tuesday collections, expect the bin to be collected on December 30. The collection for Tuesday December 23 will have been made on Monday December 22.

The collection for Wednesday December 23 moved to Monday December 22. The collection for December 31 will be as usual.

The next Thursday collections will take place on Saturday December 27, and then on January 2, a Friday.

Green bin collections will be suspended from December 29 until January 9.

BOLTON

Bin collections over Christmas and New Year may be different to your usual days.

To see if your collection days have changed, check your recently delivered printed calendar or visit bit.ly/boltonbincollections

And please remember there are no garden and food waste collections from Tuesday, December 23 to Monday, January 5.

BURY

Residents are reminded that over the festive period, brown bin collections are paused from 22 December to 4 January, and during the same period, collection dates for grey, green and blue bins will change for most households.

  • Tuesday 23 December will change to Monday 22 December.
  • Wednesday 24 December will change to Tuesday 23 December
  • Thursday 25 December will change to Wednesday 24 December
  • Friday 26 December will change to Monday 29 December
  • Tuesday 30 December (no change)
  • Wednesday 31 December (no change)
  • Thursday 1 January will change to Friday 2 January
  • Friday 2 January will change to Saturday 3 January

Bins should be put out at the usual collection point by 7am, and all waste must fit inside the bins with the lids fully closed.

While extra bags of waste cannot be collected, they can be taken to the household waste and recycling centres, which are open every day except 25 December and 1 January.

Brown bin collections will be on hold due to reduced garden waste at this time of year, which also allows collection crews to concentrate on emptying the other bins, which can fill-up more quickly at this time of year.

Residents can help make the most of the space in their bins by squashing and flattening recycling items and by squashing and squeezing air out of bagged rubbish. Plastic pots, tubs and trays which were previously disposed of in the grey bin can now be recycled in the blue recycling bin.