Recycling centre policy and site restrictions

Who can use the recycling centres

You must be a resident in the statutory area of ECC to use the recycling centres. Staff may ask for proof of residency (such as a council tax bill or driving licence). Residents from nearby areas in Suffolk or Hertfordshire can also visit some sites.  

Who needs to book a slot

You will need to book a slot for each visit, unless you are a Blue Badge holder, a pedestrian or cyclist.

Bookings can be made online through the recycling centre directory pages.

Larger sites accept cars and vans, but smaller sites only accepts cars.  Find out what ECC defines as a van, pick-up or large trailer.

What items can be taken there

The sites are for household waste only.  Find out what our recycling centres can accept.

Wherever possible, please use your kerbside collections. This is the most convenient way to dispose of your household waste and recycling.

Some sites can accept DIY and construction waste if it comes from your own household.  

Some sites have donation points for large electrical appliances.

Hazardous waste and business, trade and commercial waste is not accepted at any ECC recycling centre. Small amounts of garden and household chemicals will be accepted. Give these items to a member of site staff.

Find out how to dispose of hazardous waste.

Find out how to dispose of business, trade and commercial waste.

Before passing on any smart devices, such as phones, tablets, laptops or computers, make sure you remove memory cards and SIM cards. You should also permanently delete all personal and private data. Find out how to permanently delete your data on the Recycle Your Electricals website.

Site rules and safety

CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is in operation at the sites for the purpose of crime prevention and public safety. Details of vehicles may be recorded for monitoring purposes.

For any accessibility queries please ask a member of staff for advice.

For safety reasons, children and pets must stay inside your vehicle at all times.

Suitable clothing, gloves and enclosed footwear is advisable when visiting the sites.

Paths are provided for safety. Be cautious when moving around the site, especially during wet conditions when surfaces may be slippery.

Once items are deposited in a container, they cannot be removed. 

Please consider donating items in a reusable condition, before taking them to a recycling centre.

There are no public toilet facilities available at our sites. Staff toilets may be made available to the public in exceptional circumstances at the site supervisor’s discretion.

Queuing and unloading

To make your visit more efficient, sort items before visiting. If you bring unsorted items into the site you may be asked to separate these by staff to ensure they can be recycled.

Allow plenty of time to queue, unload and exit the site. You may be denied access if you arrive too close to closing time. Don't queue before the site opens as this stops staff and vehicles arriving to exchange full bins for empty ones, causing access issues.

Long queues outside the centres can add to local traffic congestion. You may be asked to move on if you're causing an obstruction. Staff reserve the right to ask residents to complete unloading and leave the site within their booked timeslot. This may be needed during busy periods to ensure the centres operate as efficiently as possible.

Ensure your vehicle is safely parked with the engine off before displaying your booking confirmation. Please keep your engine off when queuing as this will help to keep air pollution levels down for other site users and staff.

Users are not allowed to park their vehicle outside the site and walk waste into the site.

At each site there will be an authorised ‘Reuser’. This person may put reusable items aside to be reused, which helps to reduce the environmental impact of waste.

If disposing of household fridges and freezers, ensure they are defrosted, clean and contain no food.

Booking terms and conditions

Failure to follow these conditions may result in your access to the recycling centre service being withdrawn.

You will need to book a slot to visit the recycling centre unless you are a Blue Badge holder, a pedestrian or cyclist. You may be asked to show your booking confirmation and proof that you are resident in the Essex County Council (ECC) area.  If using a hire vehicle, you should also bring a copy of your hire agreement.

ECC reserves the right to cancel any multiple bookings in a seven day period that are deemed as excessive usage. Excessive use of sites may lead to access being withdrawn or limited.

ECC does not accept liability for any damage caused to any property on site, unless the damage is caused by recklessness or negligence by ECC staff, vehicles or property.

Nothing in these terms and conditions shall be deemed to exclude, restrict or limit ECC’s liability for death or personal injury, whereby such death or personal injury arises out of ECC’s negligence.

ECC does not accept liability for any site closures whatsoever.

The information you provide will be used for the specific purpose of fulfilling the application you are completing and any subsequent administration required as part of that process. It may also be used for management information and statistics to assess the service and measure future provision. All your information is processed in accordance with any applicable data protection legislation and regulations. For full details on how we use, store and share your info, please see our Privacy Notice.  Your data will be held for up to 12 months for the purpose of monitoring usage.