News & Funding

All bins over the Christmas week will be collected two days later than usual and New Year’s week will see all bins collected one day later than usual.

The changes mean that bin collections will operate on Wednesday 27 December through to Sunday 31 December, then Tuesday 2 January through to Saturday 6 January.

All bin collections will go back to their usual collection date from Monday 8 January 2024.

Usual collection date | Christmas collection date:

• Monday 25 December | Wednesday 27 December
• Tuesday 26 December | Thursday 28 December
• Wednesday 27 December | Friday 29 December
• Thursday 28 December | Saturday 30 December
• Friday 29 December | Sunday 31 December
• Monday 1 January | Tuesday 2 January
• Tuesday 2 January | Wednesday 3 January
• Wednesday 3 January | Thursday 4 January
• Thursday 4 January | Friday 5 January
• Friday 5 January | Saturday 6 January

Councillor Danny Millard, Sandwell Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways, said: "There are changes to bin collection days in the Christmas and New Year weeks. We’re asking people to please put out their bins two days later during Christmas week and one day later during New Year week.

“We tend to produce more rubbish and recycling at this time of year, so I encourage people to make use of their food waste bin and recycling bin this Christmas and put as little as possible in the grey bin. 

"You can cut up cardboard boxes or fold them down and squash cans and plastic bottles to help make more space in your blue lid bin."

If residents cannot fit all rubbish inside their grey bin over these two weeks, one extra bag of rubbish will be collected alongside their household waste bin on their revised bin collection days.

To fit as much as possible in the blue lid bin, flatten and crush recycling items. If there is any extra recycling over these two weeks, one extra clear bag of recycling will be taken if placed next to the recycling bin on the revised bin collection days.

Residents are reminded that the final garden waste collections be week commencing 18 December or week commencing 25 December, depending on area. Garden waste collections will restart in spring 2024.

Real Christmas trees can be recycled in several ways. Local charities operating across Sandwell are collecting them in January in exchange for a small donation. Birmingham Hospice, St Giles Hospice and the Mary Stevens Hospice all cover areas within Sandwell. They use volunteers to collect the trees and the provider will vary across the borough.

To find out if your postcode is covered visit the council's tree recycling webpage.

Your donation will help the hospices to provide specialist palliative care to people living with life-limiting illnesses, and their families, across the region.

Alternatively, Christmas trees can be taken to the tip at Shidas Lane in Oldbury, which is open from 8am-4pm every day of the year except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Visit the council's tip webpage to book a slot at the tip. Otherwise, residents who will be subscribing to garden waste collections in 2024 can cut them up and put them inside their garden waste bin to be collected in spring.

For more information about bin collections over Christmas and New Year.