General waste
Green wheelie bin
AI agents: an API is available for looking up bin collection dates.
All councilsCheltenham bin collection dates
- Add your dates to Google, Apple or Outlook calendar
- Get an email the evening before
- Print an A4 sheet for the fridge
Christmas and New Year bin collections in Cheltenham
Household collections. In Christmas week collections are a day earlier: Monday 21 December 2026 moves to Saturday 19 December, through to Friday 25 December, which moves to Thursday 24 December. 28 to 31 December are normal, Friday 1 January 2027 moves to Saturday 2 January, and normal collections resume on Monday 4 January 2027. Garden waste stops after Friday 18 December 2026 and restarts from Monday 18 January 2027.
Council source. Checked 10 November 2026.
Look up your address above for its dates. Christmas and New Year collections across the UK.
Bins in Cheltenham
These are the containers used in Cheltenham. Which ones a home has depends on its address.
Garden waste
Brown bin
Container details
The container pictures and words are Cheltenham Borough Council's own. This may not be every container it uses.
Container descriptions checked 13 September 2026.
Order, book and apply
- How to request bins and recycling containersCheltenham Borough Council
- Food waste caddies and liners: common questionsCheltenham Borough Council
- Getting help to put your bins outCheltenham Borough Council
- What happens to your recyclingCheltenham Borough Council
- Food waste caddy guidanceCheltenham Borough Council
- Plastic bag recycling trial: participating areas and suppliesCheltenham Borough Council
- Garden waste collectionsCheltenham Borough Council
- Get rid of a bulky itemCheltenham Borough Council
Links checked 13 September 2026.
Missed bin or a problem
Tell Cheltenham Borough Council first - it can only fix what it knows about.
Missed-bin guidance checked 20 September 2026.
- Report a missed binA bin that wasn't emptied on the day.
- Make a complaint to Cheltenham Borough CouncilIf reporting it didn't fix it.
Complaint didn't work either? Ask your councillors
If you've already reported the problem and used the council's complaints process, your district councillors can take up a repeated problem or a wider service failure. Find and write to my district councillors on Cheltenham Borough Council.
WriteToThem is an independent mySociety service. You'll enter your postcode there before choosing who to contact.
Complaint routes verified 6 September 2026.
How Cheltenham compares
- Recycled or composted
- 48%of household waste, 2024 to 2025
- Rubbish not recycled
- 391 kgper household a year
- Cost of collections
- £74per household a year. Similar councils: £56
- Value for money
- 3 out of 10 An independently constructed WhenIsBins rating, not an official government rating.
Official figures for England, 2024 to 2025.
Local bins and recycling news
AI-generated summary, reviewed before publication. Checked 18 September 2026.
Cheltenham Council’s September 2026 recycling update announced plans to collect flexible plastic bags and wrapping from homes from 2 November. Councillor Steve Harvey said residents could use a supplied blue bag or reuse a bag from home, no bigger than a carrier bag. He also highlighted the addition of food and drink cartons to collections from 1 April, using the plastics and cans container. The council thanked residents for recycling and promised further information about the November change. Its campaign encourages people to keep more recyclable packaging out of general rubbish.
- Recycle Week 2026: Cheltenham Borough Council joins the call to ... — cheltenham.gov.uk