Waste that we make a charge for

There are charges for some items and commercial waste at our household waste recycling centres.

Waste from DIY projects

You can dispose of waste created by your own DIY projects for free, but there are restrictions on size and amounts that can be brought in, and the number of visits you can make each week.

Once a week, you can bring either:

  • a single article of waste no larger than 2000mm x 750mm x 700mm in size

    or

  • less than 100 litres of DIY waste items, capable of being fitted into two 50 litre bags (we do not supply these bags - an example of the correct size of bag to use is located at our centres for reference purposes only)

We can accept these items free of charge in the quantities mentioned above:

  • hardcore, bricks, rubble and tarmac, including plasterboard and gypsum items, slate, stone, soil, clay, turf, gravel and pebbles
  • concrete, including breeze blocks, paving slabs, lintels, mortar and rendering, mixed or powdered cement or cement board
  • glass, including shower screens, plate and sheet glass, tiles, furniture shelving, table tops (please note that a pane of glass from a picture frame is not classed as DIY waste) 
  • pottery and ceramics, including baths, toilets, bidets, shower trays, sinks
  • sand, including sharp sand, play pit sand and sand from sandbags used as flood protection

Once you have reached your allocated free amount of DIY waste disposal, any extra items in any one visit is chargeable and will need to paid for via credit or debit card.

You must complete a form at your household waste recycling centre to declare that the waste has been produced by your own work and not from any work for which a payment has been made or is to be made. 

Please see a member of staff before disposing of your DIY waste. 

Read our household waste recycling centres customer charter to find out what you can expect from our centres.

How to deliver your waste

You should:

  • deliver your waste in something that you can lift to the opening of the appropriate container and empty your waste from
  • not overload bags with heavy items that you cannot lift by yourself
  • not shovel waste into any container

Hardcore, rubble and plasterboard information

Price list for additional hardcore, rubble and plasterboard

The charges for additional disposal of hardcore, rubble and plasterboard are per standard hardcore and rubble bag. A sample of the standard bag is available at the sites. These charges also apply for commercial waste customers.

Volume Hardcore / rubble Plasterboard
Standard hardcore and rubble bag £3.60 £3.50

Hardcore, rubble and plasterboard waste details

Commercial customers will be charged for disposal of all of the waste types below.

Residents and charities can dispose of this waste for free, subject to the restrictions on size and amounts that can be brought in, and the number of visits you can make each week.

Waste type Derivatives
Ash Aga / fire
Breeze blocks  
Bricks  
Ceramics Baths
  Bidet
  Plates - cooking pots, dishes, and so on
  Shower tray
  Sink / pedestal
  Tiles
  Toilet
Concrete  
  Ornaments
Fire surrounds Marble
  Granite
  Wood
Flagstones Paving slabs
Glass Fish / reptile tank
  Furniture - shelving; table top
  Greenhouse glass
  Kitchenware including Pyrex
  Mirror
  Plate - window
  Shower screen
  Tiles
Gravel  
  Fish tank / litter tray
Hardcore  
Kitchen worktops Marble
  Granite
  Wood
Plasterboard Plaster / gypsum and similar materials
Pottery Cups
  Drainage pipes
  Plant pots
  Plates
Rubble  
Sand Play pit
  Sandbags
  Sharp
Slates  
Soil  
  Gardening / grow bags / planters
Stones  
  De-stoning flower beds and borders
Tarmac  
Tiles Floor / roof / wall
Turf Whole lawn / 'substantial' volume
  Edging

Hardcore and rubble or plasterboard bag equivalents

This table is a guide to the number of hardcore and rubble bag equivalents for items of waste. The number of bag equivalents and charge must be agreed with a member of site staff when you visit the household waste recycling centre.

Item Bag equivalent
Breeze block 1
Bricks (four) 1
Concrete fence post (2.4m x 100mm x 60mm) 2
Kerb pin (1.2m long) 3
Sheet of plasterboard (2.4m x 1.2m) 2
Shower tray 2
Shower screen 1
Sink (bathroom) 1
Sink (bathroom) and pedestal 2
Sink (Belfast kitchen) 1
Sink (ceramic kitchen) 2
Toilet 1
Toilet and cistern 2
Toilet cistern 1

Charges for disposing of tyres

We charge for the disposal of tyres as they are not classed as household waste.

Tyres should be placed in the designated area which will be marked with a sign. This is so they can be recycled. If any tyres are mistakenly placed in the waste for energy recovery container or any other container a charge will still be made.

Price list for tyres

Band Description Price (each)
A Standard tyre (car / motorcycle / 4x4) - off rim £3.30
Standard tyre (car / motorcycle / 4x4) - on rim £3.30
C Truck - off rim £12.60
D Truck - on rim £15.40
E Agricultural - off rim £20.90
F Agricultural - on rim £27.90
G Solid £15.40

Tyres that we charge for

This applies to residents and charities only. Commercial customers will be charged for all of the waste types below.

Tyre type Chargeable
Car Yes
Bicycle No
4x4 vehicle Yes
Motorcycle Yes
Van Yes
Wheelbarrow No
Go-kart (motorised) No
Caravan Yes
Mobility scooter No
Trailer Yes
Children's toys No
Pram / pushchair No
Shopping trolley No
Golf trolley No
Wheelchair No
Lawnmower No
Truck Yes
Agricultural Yes
Earth mover Yes

How to pay for the disposal of this type of waste

Householders, businesses and charities all have to pay to dispose of these items. There are no exemptions for the elderly, those on low income or those with disabilities as the costs have been kept to a minimum.

On arrival you will need to agree, with a member of staff, the volume of hardcore, rubble and plasterboard or tyres you have. This will set how much you have to pay. Site staff do not weigh your waste but have a pictorial guide to help them assess each load of chargeable waste. They have received full training to help them do this.

Householders

Householders bringing in DIY waste will need to see a member of staff and complete a DIY waste disposal declaration form before disposing of their waste.

Charities and businesses

Charities and businesses must be registered as a waste carrier and get a waste carrier's licence from the Environment Agency. You must show your licence to the site staff on arrival and complete the paperwork. This is a legal requirement. For more information visit registering as a waste carrier on GOV.UK. Failure to provide a copy of the waste carrier's licence will result in you being turned away.

Payment methods

Please do not empty your car until payment has been made - we accept credit and debit card payments only. No cash or cheques will be accepted.

Unable to pay

If you are unable to pay, for example you have left your debit / credit card at home, you can either phone a family member or friend so they can make the payment for you over the phone, or you will be asked to leave the site and return later with a means of payment. You will not be allowed to dispose of any chargeable materials unless you can pay. You will be allowed to dispose of any household waste free of charge.

If you do not want to pay, you will be unable to dispose of your waste at the household waste recycling centre. You will need to use another option such as hiring a skip or taking the waste to a private waste management company.

Flytipping

If you leave waste outside the site, this will be classed as fly tipping and can carry a fine of up to £50,000. Most sites have CCTV and site staff are instructed to gather evidence of anyone fly tipping for possible prosecution.

The council has a responsibility to act on reports of flytipping, to remove the waste and find and prosecute the offenders. If the waste is hazardous, the council is responsible for ensuring public safety until the waste is removed. 

Waste treated as commercial waste

Commercial waste is waste produced from:

  • a commercial organisation
  • a business or trade
  • a person's employment
  • a village hall
  • an educational establishment (an exception may be made for recyclable material where no alternative disposal is available)
  • non-residential caravans
  • a landlord

Commercial waste disposal

We accept certain types of commercial waste at all of our household waste recycling centres (except at the Harrogate Stonefall centre) during standard opening hours, Monday to Saturday (closed Wednesdays and bank holidays).

To encourage reuse and recycling, the following types of commercial waste will be accepted free of charge in any volume:

  • scrap metal
  • clothing
  • mixed cans and plastics
  • hard plastics

Read the user guidance for what you need to know when disposing commercial waste at one of our household waste recycling centres, including the types of vehicles we allow on to sites and waste types we do not accept.

You have a legal responsibility to ensure you produce, store, transport and dispose of your commercial waste without harming the environment. Find further information about commercial waste on GOV.UK.

What to do when you arrive on site

When you arrive on site, commercial waste customers must present their waste carrier's licence to site staff before disposing of waste. The Environment Agency requires you to be registered with an upper tier licence if you wish to dispose of any construction or demolition waste. You will also need to speak with a staff member to agree the volume and type of waste you have. This determines how much you have to pay before completing a controlled waste transfer note. 

If you empty your vehicle without reporting to site staff, or do not complete a transfer note, it will be assumed your vehicle was full and you will be charged the maximum waste disposal rate for your vehicle.

Why we charge for commercial waste

As household waste recycling centres are primarily for residents to dispose of their household waste, we make a charge for commercial waste to cover the cost of providing this commercial service. If you don't want to pay, you will not be able to deposit your waste at one of our centres and you will have to use another disposal option, such as hiring a skip or taking the waste to a private waste management company.

Payments

We do not apply VAT to non-household and commercial waste disposal charges. All payments must be made via debit or credit card.

If you are a regular user of the household waste recycling centres you can apply for an account. Accounts will be cancelled if they are not used for a period of three months. Invoices must be paid promptly - credit will not be given to customers who are consistently late payers or have not paid at all. Please contact us for more information on how to apply. 

Charges

Commercial customers will be charged for hardcore, rubble and plasterboard and tyres as well as the following types of waste:

Charges for active, green and wood waste

The charges for the disposal of active, green and wood wastes are per standard bag. A sample of the standard bag is available at the sites. 

Volume Active waste Green waste Wood waste
Standard waste bags £4.90 £2.70 £1.80
Up to 0.5 standard transit sized van load £62.70 £45.40 £55.80
0.5 to 1 standard transit sized van load £125.50 £90.60 £111.50
1 to 1.5 standard transit van loads £188.20 £136.20 £167.50
1.5 to 2 standard transit sized van loads £251.00 £181.40 £223.20

Charges for cardboard, glass and paper

Volume Cardboard waste Glass waste Paper waste
Standard waste bags £0.70 £1.40 £1.70
Up to 0.5 standard transit sized van load £13.70 £43.70 £53.60
0.5 to 1 standard transit sized van load £27.40 £87.20 £107.30
1 to 1.5 standard transit sized van loads £41.30 £130.90 £160.90
1.5 to 2 standard sized van loads £55.00 £174.40 £214.60

Charges for cooking oil

Volume Charge
Up to 5 litres £0.70
Up to 25 litres £3.50

Charges for returnable LPG bottles

Size Charge
Less than 15 kg £0.70
15kg and above £3.50

Items we don't accept

We do not accept the following commercial waste:

  • animal carcasses or excrement
  • any waste classified as hazardous (under the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005), including any chemicals, waste electronic or electrical equipment that is hazardous - these must be disposed of through a private licensed contractor (suitable contractors can be found via the yellow pages)
  • asbestos
  • excessive or large amounts of commercial waste where it detracts from the service provided to household users
  • scarp vehicles, caravans or boats