Fleet Bin Days: Bank Holidays Do Not Change Yours

Hart District Council does not move bin collections for bank holidays. Its own garden waste terms say so in plain words: “There are no changes to your collection days on bank holidays, including Good Friday and Easter Monday.” (Hart District Council, Garden waste: Green bin)

Christmas is the exception, and it is a big one. Last festive period the whole district ran late for three weeks. Details are further down.

Every figure on this page was checked against Hart District Council, Hampshire County Council or the operator on 31 August 2026.

The five containers, and what goes in each

Hart uses four kerbside containers plus a caddy. Weekly food waste was added across the district on 6 October 2025.

Two things catch people out here.

The blue bin is narrower than most councils’. Hart cannot take plastic pots, tubs, trays, film or packaging, polystyrene, textiles, electrical items, batteries, food waste, dirty cardboard such as pizza boxes, shredded paper or silver foil. The council’s line is “if in doubt, leave it out”. (Hart District Council, Recycling: Blue bin)

That is not permanent. Hampshire County Council, which disposes of Hart’s waste, has planning permission for a new Materials Recovery Facility and expects it to be running from spring 2028. Pots, tubs and trays go in the blue bin only once it opens.

Food waste liners do not have to be compostable. Hart gave every household a roll of 52 compostable liners, but says you can reuse ordinary plastic bags such as bread bags afterwards, because the liner is stripped off before the waste is recycled. (Hart District Council, Food waste collections)

Small electrical items go out loose on top of your black or blue bin in a carrier bag: kettles, hair dryers, cables, phones, fairy lights and vapes. The service has reached most homes but not yet flats on shared bins.

Put every container at the point nearest the road where the lorry stops, by 6am. Food waste is collected by a separate vehicle, so your caddy and your bin may go at different times of day.

Finding your day

Hart’s lookup is a postcode and address search: When is my bin day? It also produces a year-round calendar for your property. There is no way to work your day out from your street name, and no printable district-wide timetable.

Bank holidays and Christmas

Bank holidays: no change. Rubbish, recycling, glass, food waste and garden waste all go on your usual day. The council said the same at Easter 2023: “Bin collections are not affected by the Bank Holiday and will be collected on your usual day.” (Hart District Council, Easter closure) That news item is flagged by the council as more than a year old, but the garden waste terms quoted at the top of this page are current.

Christmas: three weeks of catch-up. This is the part worth knowing in advance. Over the 2025 festive period Hart’s crews took Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day off, then worked Saturdays to recover. Collections did not return to normal until Monday 19 January 2026. The slip was four days at its worst and was still one day out in mid-January.

(Hart District Council, Christmas 2025)

Garden waste stopped altogether from 25 December 2025 to 7 January 2026 and resumed on the normal day, not the revised one. Hart publishes the new table each December, so check before you assume last year’s pattern repeats.

Extra bagged rubbish is taken on the first collection after Christmas. Extra recycling is taken all year round if it is in a clear bag beside the blue bin, and flattened clean cardboard up to 70cm by 70cm can go out loose at any time.

Garden waste: what it costs

The green bin is a paid subscription running 12 months from the day you join, and it buys 25 collections. Prices for 2026/27:

• small 140 litre bin: £55 a year
• large 240 litre bin: £80 a year
• concessionary small bin: £29 a year
• concessionary large bin: £54 a year
• buying the bin itself: £45, on top of the subscription

The concessionary rate is for households claiming Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support or the housing element of Universal Credit, and it is applied by phone on 01252 622122 rather than online.

Other terms worth knowing: branches must be under 10cm across, the bin must not weigh more than 50kg, and the subscription is not refundable if you cancel. If you move within Hart you can transfer it. Christmas trees up to 1.8m go beside the bin in January.

Bulky collections: £50 for one item

Hart charges per item, and the price per item rises rather than falls as you add more. These are the 2026/27 rates.

Cancelling costs £10, or £20 if you cancel within three working days of the collection. Large or heavy items count as more than one: a three-seater sofa or a fridge freezer over 4ft are the council’s own examples. Recliner armchairs, American fridge freezers, boilers, gas bottles, rubble, garage doors and anything with glass panels are refused outright. White goods have to be booked by phone. (Hart District Council, Bulky household waste collection)

Before paying, check whether the item can be given away. Fleet Lions runs a community furniture store that collects some items free, and the Salvation Army books free collections.

Missed collections: 48 hours

Report a missed bin within 48 hours of your collection day. Hart aims to return within two working days, and asks you to leave the bin out until then. Reports go through Basingstoke and Deane’s system, because the two councils share the waste service. (Report a missed bin)

Crews will not empty a black bin with garden waste in it, will not take bagged waste left beside it, and will not take a bin whose lid is not shut.

New and replacement bins

You buy your own. A bin damaged within two years of purchase is replaced free if you can show proof of purchase; after that it counts as wear and tear. 2026/27 charges:

• 240 litre refuse bin, new property: £87
• 140 litre refuse bin, new property: £61
• refuse bin replacement, either size: £51
• recycling bin, new property: £45
• glass box, 40 litre: £3
• maroon glass wheelie bin, 140 litre: £45

The standard allocation is one 240 litre black bin per household. A second one is only considered where six or more people live at the property permanently, two or more children are in nappies, or someone has a medical condition producing extra waste. All orders go through 01252 622122.

The tip: Springwell Lane, Hartley Wintney

The district’s own household waste recycling centre is on Springwell Lane, Hartley Wintney, RG27 8BW. Hampshire County Council runs it, and every visit must be booked, up to a week ahead. Same-day slots depend on availability.

• open 7 days a week, closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day
• closed daily between 1pm and 1.30pm
• 9am to 6pm, 1 April to 30 September
• 9am to 5pm, 1 to 31 March
• 9am to 4pm, 1 October to 28 February
• the site has steps, and pedestrians are not admitted; cyclists can book a slot
• non-Hampshire residents are charged £13.50 a visit

(Hampshire County Council, Hartley Wintney HWRC)

Springwell Lane will not take upholstered seating. Sofas, armchairs, dining chairs, footstools, beanbags and floor cushions have to go to Wade Road in Basingstoke or Eelmoor Road in Farnborough instead, because Springwell Lane is too small to store them separately. Hart also warns that fridges and freezers cannot be guaranteed acceptance anywhere in Hampshire at the moment, and that this may affect booked bulky collections too.

Bring sites across the district

Hart runs ten smaller recycling points. Six of them take small electricals and foil as well as textiles.

Independent banks also sit at Morrisons on Elvetham Heath Way, Tesco on Station Road in Hook, Waitrose in Yateley, Quetta Community Centre in Church Crookham and Whitewater Primary School in Rotherwick.

Also on this site

• Fleet roadworks and travel, including the Church Road closure that affects access to the Church Road car park and its recycling bank
• Parking in Fleet
• Council tax bands in Hart