Bank holidays are the single biggest cause of missed bin collections in the UK. Your usual Wednesday collection shifts to Thursday, but only sometimes, and only if the bank holiday falls on a Monday or Tuesday, and it depends on your council.
2026 bank holidays at a glance
- New Year's Day — Thu 1 January
- Good Friday — Fri 3 April
- Easter Monday — Mon 6 April
- Early May — Mon 4 May
- Spring — Mon 25 May
- Summer — Mon 31 August
- Christmas — Fri 25 December
- Boxing Day — Mon 28 December (substitute)
How most councils handle it
The general rule is: if collection day falls on or after the bank holiday, it shifts forward by one day that week. But this varies. Some councils don't shift at all. Some shift for the whole week. Some only shift for the Monday round.
How BinPing handles it
We don't apply a generic rule. We pull the actual adjusted schedule from your council's data feed. If they say your green bin is collected on Thursday instead of Wednesday that week, that's exactly what we tell you.
No guessing, no memorising rules. Just the right bin, on the right night.