Search which Colchester bin an item goes in, see how the two-week collection cycle and bank holidays work, and check whether Shrub End tip is open right now. Everything here comes from Colchester City Council and Love Essex pages.
Need your exact bin day? Colchester City Council’s postcode lookup shows your day, which week is which, and a printable calendar.
Find your collection dayColchester Recycling Centre, 221 Shrub End Road, Colchester CO3 4RN.
Book a free slot for every vehicle visit (Blue Badge holders, pedestrians and cyclists do not need one). Book with Love Essex or call Essex County Council on 0345 743 0430 (8.30am to 5pm).
Hours from Love Essex, checked 28 Sep 2026. More detail, including vans and DIY limits, in our Colchester tip guide.
From 1 June 2026 every kerbside household in Colchester moved to a new collection calendar, and many collection days and weeks changed. Food waste is collected every week. Everything else runs on a two-week cycle:
Early rollout areas got new bins from June 2026. The main kerbside rollout runs from autumn 2026 to March 2027. Until your new bins arrive, keep using your existing bins and bags on your collection day. You can already mix paper, card, plastics, tins and cans together in clear recycling bags. Homes assessed as unsuitable for wheeled bins stay on black sacks and clear sacks. The council’s Check my service tool tells you whether your property has been assessed and which service it will get.
Colchester City Council’s collection policy says bank holiday arrangements are posted on its Recycling and rubbish page. It does not publish a fixed rule. Most bank holidays are Mondays, when there are no kerbside rounds (council special collections also do not run on bank holidays). The ones to watch are those on a Tuesday to Friday.
| Date | Bank holiday | Bins | Tip (Shrub End) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | Kerbside collection day: check the council page | Closed |
| Mon 28 Dec 2026 | Boxing Day (substitute day) | No Monday rounds | Love Essex lists Boxing Day (Sat 26 Dec) as closed; check before visiting on the 28th |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year’s Day | Kerbside collection day: check the council page | Closed |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Good Friday | Kerbside collection day: check the council page | No closure listed |
| Mon 29 Mar 2027 | Easter Monday | No Monday rounds | No closure listed |
| Mon 3 May 2027 | Early May bank holiday | No Monday rounds | No closure listed |
| Mon 31 May 2027 | Spring bank holiday | No Monday rounds | No closure listed |
| Mon 30 Aug 2027 | Summer bank holiday | No Monday rounds | No closure listed |
Dates from GOV.UK bank holidays (England and Wales). The tip also closes at 1pm on Thu 24 Dec and Thu 31 Dec 2026. We do not guess revised collection dates: the council page and your calendar are the only reliable source.
A summary of Colchester City Council’s what goes in your bins (kerbside) pages. Rinse recycling and put it in loose.
23-litre kerbside caddy · every week
Not: packaging or plastic bags, liquids, oils and fats, pet food or litter.
Line with a compostable liner, newspaper or kitchen roll, or put food in loose.
Green-lid 240-litre bin or clear bags · every two weeks
Not: glass, polystyrene, greasy pizza boxes, blister packs, hard plastic toys, used tissues, electricals.
Separate box · recycling week
Not: drinking glasses, window glass, Pyrex or ovenproof glass. Don’t fill above the lip.
Black 180-litre bin or up to three 60-litre black bags · every two weeks
Not: recycling, garden waste, hot ashes, batteries, vapes, electricals, paint or liquids, bulky items. The council does not supply black bags.
Subscription only · recycling week
Not: large branches, soil, rubble, treated wood, plant pots, food, bags. Join or renew via the garden waste subscription page.
Lost or broken container? Use the council’s recycling containers page. For council bulky collections compared with a private clearance, see council bulky vs private.
Enter your postcode in Colchester City Council’s “Your recycling calendar” lookup. It shows your collection day, which week is rubbish and which is recycling, and lets you download a PDF calendar. Calendars changed on 1 June 2026, so check yours even if you have lived at the same address for years.
Food waste is collected every week. Non-recyclable rubbish and mixed recycling are each collected every two weeks, on alternate weeks. Glass and subscribed garden waste go out on the same week as mixed recycling. The council’s collection policy says kerbside collections run Tuesday to Friday, and everything should be out by 7am.
The council’s collection policy says bank holiday arrangements are posted on its Recycling and rubbish web page. Most bank holidays fall on a Monday, when there are no kerbside rounds, but Christmas Day and New Year’s Day 2026/27 and Good Friday 2027 fall on Fridays, so check the council page before those dates.
Colchester Recycling Centre at Shrub End opens 9am to 5pm every day from 1 March to 15 October, and 9am to 4pm from 16 October to the end of February. It is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and closes at 1pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Vehicle visits need a free booking. Hours are from Love Essex, checked 28 September 2026.
All checked 28 Sep 2026. Collection days, rules and hours change, so use these pages before you put bins out or travel.