Household waste collections over the 25/26 festive period in the Ashford borough

Household waste collections will be altered across the Ashford borough during the festive period 2025/26. Please ensure bins are presented for collection before 6am on the revised day.

Normal recycling, refuse and food waste service resumes Monday 12 January. 

Garden waste collections are suspended from Thursday 25th December and collections will resume on residents’ normal day of collection from Thursday 8 January.

Weekly clinical collections are not affected during the festive period; ad hoc sharps collections will not be available.

Missed bins should be reported via the Report It section on the council website the day after the collection was due, but no later than 48 working hours thereafter. Once reported, please leave the bin presented at the usual point of collection.

For the 15th year running, we are supporting Pilgrims Hospices’ Christmas Tree Recycling campaign. Last year, over 4,200 real Christmas trees were collected across Ashford, Canterbury and Thanet, raising an incredible £78,000 for local end-of-life care.

Residents wishing to take part in the scheme are encouraged to register their real Christmas tree for collection by midnight on Sunday 4 January 2026. A donation of their choice can be made at the time of booking, after which Pilgrims Hospices’ volunteer collectors will pick up the trees directly from homes for recycling on either Saturday 10 or Sunday 11 January 2026.

More details and registration: www.pilgrimshospices.org/treerecycling

Residents can check their revised collection days and find festive recycling tips at: www.ashford.gov.uk/festive-waste-collections