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2nd January 2020 News
Greater Manchester bin and recycling collection dates for Christmas and New Year 2025
Danny Jones
We know it’s a somewhat boring bit of life admin, but anyone who’s been caught out missing the refuse collection dates when the various recycling bins inevitably pile up over Christmas and New Year will know it’s worth knowing ahead of time.
Let’s help you avoid any unnecessary trips to the tip or having to find other ways to get rid of extra rubbish this holiday season.
You can thank us later.
Here are all of the relevant bin collection dates for each of the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs this Christmas 2025 and the first few days of the New Year.
When are the bins being collected this Christmas?
Bolton
Grey bins
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- Wednesday 31 December 2025
- Wednesday 14 January 2026
- Wednesday 28 January 2026
- Wednesday 11 February 2026
Beige bins
- Wednesday 7 January 2026
- Wednesday 4 February 2026
Burgundy bins
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- Wednesday 24 December 2025
- Wednesday 7 January 2026
- Wednesday 21 January 2026
- Wednesday 4 February 2026
Green bins
- Wednesday 7 January 2026
- Wednesday 1 January 2026
- Wednesday 4 February 2026
- Wednesday 18 February 2026
Bury
Brown bin collections will be paused from Monday, 22 December to Sunday, 4 January, while dates for grey, green and blue bins will also change for most households until January.
Bury Council has advised that 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.
A full list of revised collection dates:
- 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 2026, will change to Friday, 2 January
- Friday, 2 January, will change to Saturday, 3 January
Manchester (central)
- No change to collections on Monday, 22 December and Monday, 29 December
- No change to collections on Tuesday, 23 December and Tuesday, 30 December
- No change to collections on Wednesday, 24 December and Wednesday, 31 December
- Thursday collections move from Thurs, 25 Dec to Sat, 27 Dec, and 1 January to Fri, 2 January 2026
- Friday collections move from Fri, 26 Dec to Sun, 28 Dec and from Fri, 2 Jan to Sat, 3 Jan
Oldham
Bins due on Christmas Day (December 25):
- Blue bins will be collected on Monday, 29 December
- Grey bins will be collected on Tuesday, 30 December
- Brown bins will be collected on Wednesday, 31 December
- Green bins and food caddies to be collected on Thursday, 18 December and Saturday, 3 January
Bins due on Boxing Day (26 December):
- Blue, grey and brown bins will be collected on Saturday, 20 December
- Green bins and food caddies to be collected as normal on (Fri, 19 December and 2 Jan 2026)
Bins due Monday, 29 December to Wednesday, 31 December:
- Blue, grey, and brown bins will be collected as normal
- Green bin and food caddy a week earlier from 22-24 December and one week later from Jan 5-7.
Bins due on New Year’s Day (Thursday, January 1):
All bins will be collected on Saturday, January 3.
Rochdale
- Thursday, 25 December 2025 (Christmas Day) – your bin collection will move to Sat, 27 Dec
- Friday, 26 December 2025 (Boxing Day) – your bin collection will move to Mon, 29 Dec
- Thursday, 1 January 2026 – your bin collection will move to Sat, 3 Jan 2026
Salford
| NO COLLECTION | REPLACEMENT DATE |
| Thursday 25 December 2025 | Saturday 20 December 2025 |
| Friday 26 December 2025 | Saturday 27 December 2025 |
| Thursday 1 January 2026 | Saturday 3 January 2026 |
Stockport
- The next black bin collection will be on Monday, 29 December
- Blue bins will be collected on Friday, 2 January 2026
- Brown and green bins will also be collected on Friday, 2 January
Tameside
Thursday 25 December – No Collections
- If you are due a green (general waste) bin collection, it will be collected on Monday, 29 December
- If you are due a black (comingled recycling waste) or a blue (paper recycling waste) bin collection, it will be collected on Wednesday, 31 December
Friday 26 December – No Collections
- If you are due a green (general waste) bin collection, it will be collected on Tuesday, 30 December
- If you are due a black (comingled recycling waste) or a blue (paper recycling waste) bin collection, it will be collected on Friday, 2 January
Thursday 1 January – No Collections
- If you are due a green (general waste) bin collection, it will be collected on Monday, 5 January
- If you are due a black (comingled recycling waste) or a blue (paper recycling waste) bin collection, it will be collected on Tuesday, 6 January
All other green, black and blue bin collections are due to run as normal over the festive period.
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Trafford
| NORMAL BIN DAY | NEW COLLECTION DATE |
| Monday 22 December | No change |
| Tuesday 23 December | No change |
| Wednesday 24 December | No change |
| Thursday 25 December | Saturday 27 December |
| Friday 26 December | Saturday 27 December |
| Monday 29 December | No change |
| Tuesday 30 December | No change |
| Wednesday 31 January | No change |
| Thursday 1 January | Friday 2 January |
| Friday 2 January | Saturday 3 January |
Green bins and food waste
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.
Wigan
- Bin collections, which usually take place on Tuesdays, will be done on Monday, 22 December and Tuesday, 30 December.
- Those whose rubbish is normally collected on Wednesdays will move to Tuesday, 23 December and Wednesday, 31 December.
- Thursday bin dates will move to Wednesday, 24 December and Friday, 2 January 2026.
- Bin collections normally scheduled on Fridays will be carried out on Saturday, 27 December and Saturday, 3 January 2026.
- Green bin collections will be suspended from Monday, 29 December until 9 January; the normal schedule will then resume starting January 12 or 19 – depending on the area.
We hope you have a wonderful, stress-free Christmas and New Year; as for those of you still looking to buy those last few bits, you might find the list below helpful, too.
Read more:
- Greater Manchester’s Christmas crime rate named one of the highest in the UK
- Five of the best things to watch on TV this Christmas 2025
- 19-year-old arrested after hitting and killing two women with car on rural Bolton road
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Images — Royalty-free (via Rawpixel)
News
NASA reveals exact time you can see ‘Santa’s sleigh’ fly over Greater Manchester this Christmas
Emily Sergeant
There’s not long left until Santa and his reindeer crew fly over the skies of Manchester to drop off all those presents.
And it seems like Manchester must have been extra nice this year, as Santa is treating us to lots of chances to catch a glimpse of him on his mission to deliver millions of gifts in time for Christmas.
Just like every year, Santa is dusting off his sleigh and polishing his boots to prepare for his biggest night visiting lots of kids and families. The sleigh is being filled with lots of goodies and surprises as we speak… it’s almost like he can smell the milk and cookies from here.
NASA, one of the world’s leading space companies, has been working meticulously to find out Santa’s route for 2025.
The world-renowned space agency has given us an exact time to look up at the stars to spot the main man himself and catch the glimmer of lights from his sleigh.
As a man who has lots of experience globe trotting, it’s safe to say the big man knows how to efficiently cover as many houses as possible all in one night.
Santa’s sleigh will, coincidentally (*wink wink), be present at the same time as the International Space Station (ISS), however anyone looking to see this festive vehicle can notice the lights won’t change direction and will not flash.
This time round, Santa is swooshing round Greater Manchester on Christmas Day a whole hour earlier than last year, meaning that nice list must be the longest it’s ever been.
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Wednesday 24 December
5:21am
Santa’s sleigh lights will be visible for two minutes travelling South East to East, as the man of Christmas weighs up his North West delivery route.
6:54am
There’s a six minute opportunity to catch those bright lights of Santa’s sleigh in the Manchester sky as he travels from West to South East, finalising his map before the big night ahead.
Thursday 25 December
4:35am
It will be visible for less than a minute, no movement, in a static position. Santa will be doing a headcount of all the houses to make sure he’s not missed a single chimney.
6:08am
The sleigh will be seen for four minutes, moving from South West to South East, by now Santa will have finished his Manchester delivery drop and will be heading on over the hill to our friends in Leeds.
Read more:
- Five of the best things to watch on TV this Christmas | 2025
- New survey reveals one in six Brits would rather have a curry than a Christmas dinner
- 10 Christmas foods that are toxic for pets and the warning signs to watch out for
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Image – Needpix.com
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