Residents across the London Borough of Merton are being advised of significant changes to their bin collection schedules over the festive period. Normal services for households in areas like Wimbledon, Morden, and Mitcham will be disrupted due to the public holidays.
Revised festive collection timetable
The council has released a special timetable to account for Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day. Collections originally scheduled for Thursday, December 25 (Christmas Day) will now take place on Saturday, December 27. This represents a two-day delay for those households.
For bins normally emptied on Friday, December 26 (Boxing Day), the pickup has been pushed back by three days to Monday, December 29.
Further changes into the New Year
The adjustments continue into the first week of 2026. Collections planned for Monday, December 29 and Tuesday, December 30 will be delayed by one day. A more substantial shift will affect services from Wednesday, December 31 through to Friday, January 2, which will all be collected two days later than usual.
Notably, collections due on Friday, January 2 will actually occur three days later. The pattern of one-day delays will then apply to collections from Sunday, January 5 through to Thursday, January 9.
Merton Council has confirmed that normal collection schedules will fully resume from Monday, January 12, 2026.
Important notes for residents
The council has highlighted that residents living in flats above shops will operate on a different collection schedule. These households should expect to be contacted directly by the council with their specific arrangements.
In addition to general waste and recycling, these date changes will also affect clinical waste collections across the borough.
Christmas tree disposal service
Merton Council is also running a dedicated Christmas tree disposal service. This will take place on Monday, January 6. Residents wishing to use this service must place their trees out by 6am, ensuring all decorations are removed and the tree is taken out of its pot.
As an alternative, genuine Christmas trees can be recycled free of charge at the borough's household reuse and recycling centre on Garth Road in Morden.
Residents are encouraged to take note of the revised dates to ensure their bins are put out on the correct day and to avoid any build-up of waste over the holiday season.
