As thousands of Manchester residents prepare to celebrate the festivities over Christmas, the bin collection schedules across the city will be adjusted for the festive season.
The council is advising residents to check their bin collection dates during Christmas and New Year period, particularly to check their bin day online to avoid missed collections and ensure bins are out by 7am on the revised dates.
Collection Dates:
No changes to collections on:
- Monday 22 December and Monday 29 December
- Tuesday 23 December and Tuesday 30 December
- Wednesday 24 December and Wednesday 31 December
Changes to Thursday and Friday collections:
- Thursday 25 December → Saturday 27 December
- Friday 26 December → Sunday 28 December
- Thursday 1 January → Friday 2 January
- Friday 2 January → Saturday 3 January
Residents are also being encouraged to take care when separating their recyclable materials into the correct recycling bins.
Recycling Guidelines:
- Cardboard & Paper: Place in your blue bin. Flatten boxes and remove plastic packaging.
- Wrapping Paper & Cards: Recyclable if made entirely of paper. Remove glitter, foil, bows, and ribbons.
- Food Waste: Leftovers, including bones, go in your green bin. Clean foil trays can be recycled in your brown bin.
- Plastics & Glass: Empty plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, tin foil, tins, cans, glass bottles, and glass jars go in your brown bin. Plastic films and crisp packets go in your grey bin.
- Electrical Items & Batteries: Take to your local recycling centre or supermarket collection points.
Christmas Tree Recycling
Alongside household recycling, real Christmas trees can also be recycled throughout January once all decorations, lights, stands, and wooden bases have been removed. Artificial trees cannot be recycled.
Recycling options are:
- Charity Collection: Book a collection with Just Helping for a donation. Funds raised support local causes including Moya Cole Hospice, Francis House, and We Love Manchester.
- Green Bin: Chop your tree into pieces and place them in your green bin on any green bin day in January.
- Drop-off Points: Trees can be taken to:
- Wythenshawe Park and Gardens Athletics Track (M23 0PH)
- Heaton Park, Middleton Road entrance (M8 4NB)
- Boggart Hole Clough, near Visitor Centre (M9 7DH)
- Patchett Street, Ardwick (M12 4RY)
City Centre Locations: Angel Meadow Park, Castlefield Bowl, Cutting Room Square, Smithfield Estate, Sackville Gardens.
Bins and recycling information at Christmas is available throughout the festive season.
Coucillor Lee-Ann Igbon, Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods, said:
“As we all tend to consume more over the Christmas season with festive meals and gift giving, it means we have to put more care into ensuring those materials are disposed of and recycled properly to prevent harm to our neighbourhoods. Every item we recycle helps cut carbon emissions and conserve resources. By recycling more, we’re supporting Manchester’s ambition to become a zero-carbon city by 2038. Small actions, like sorting your bins correctly, add up to big changes for our environment and community.”