Every Dartford bin round moves a day later from Monday 31 August: Monday's rubbish goes out Tuesday 1 September and Friday's on Saturday 5 September. All five days listed.

There is no bin collection in Dartford on bank holiday Monday, 31 August. Every round that week runs one day late, and the Friday rounds are collected on Saturday 5 September. (Dartford Borough Council)

The council publishes the shift as a table of “anticipated” days:

  • Monday 31 August rounds: collected Tuesday 1 September
  • Tuesday 1 September rounds: collected Wednesday 2 September
  • Wednesday 2 September rounds: collected Thursday 3 September
  • Thursday 3 September rounds: collected Friday 4 September
  • Friday 4 September rounds: collected Saturday 5 September

The change applies to refuse, recycling and garden waste alike. No change is listed for the following week, so normal days should resume from Monday 7 September.

Table showing each usual Dartford collection day from Monday 31 August to Friday 4 September and the day it is actually collected, each one day later, ending with Saturday 5 September
Chart by Dartford Online. Source: Dartford Borough Council bank holiday collection changes page, checked 25 August 2026.

Why it is a full week, not one day

The council’s table shows the whole week sliding rather than a single Saturday catch-up for the Monday rounds. That is why a Friday household is affected by a Monday holiday, and why it is worth checking the date rather than assuming. The rounds are run by the council’s contractor, FCC Environment. (Dartford Borough Council)

The council’s online collection tool already builds the bank holiday shift into the dates it shows for your address. Enter your address there and the date it returns is the one to trust; the council says the tool “does take into account Bank Holidays and temporary changes”.

The council also warns that the anticipated days are not guaranteed. Snow, ice and extreme heat can push rounds later still. If your bin is not emptied on the expected day, it asks you to leave it out, because the crews will return “as soon as they are able”. (Dartford Borough Council)

What it means for you

  • If your bins are normally emptied on a Monday, put them out for Tuesday 1 September, not Monday.
  • Everyone else in the borough is one day later than usual that week, through to Saturday 5 September for the Friday rounds.
  • Bins need to be at your front boundary by 6am on the new day. Our Dartford bin collection days page has the full rules on what goes in the green, grey and brown bins.
  • Garden waste subscribers are on the same one-day shift.
  • A missed bin can be reported through the council’s report tool once the anticipated day has passed.

The next disruption is Christmas

The August holiday is the last simple one of the year. The council’s published Christmas pattern keeps Monday 21 to Thursday 24 December on their normal days, then moves the Friday 25 December rounds to Tuesday 29 December. From there the shift grows: the Monday 28 December rounds move to Wednesday 30 December, the Thursday 31 December rounds to Monday 4 January, and the Friday 1 January rounds to Tuesday 5 January, with the knock-on running into the second week of January. (Dartford Borough Council)

Bin collections are one of the services that will pass to a new North Kent council when Dartford Borough Council is abolished in 2028. We covered what that means in our report on the reorganisation. Until then the borough’s collection pattern, including the bank holiday shift, is unchanged.

Sources