Visiting recycling centres

Sort your recycling before you visit

Before you visit one of our waste recycling centres, please take a minute to sort your mixed rubbish and recycling. Sorting items at home can help to:

• maximise recycling and keep materials in circulation for longer
• lower carbon emissions
• speed up your visit (less time spent queuing)

Sorting helps ensure that you only throw into the general waste container items that cannot be recycled. Our waste wizard can tell you if your items can be recycled.

How to separate your items

You could separate items into:

• different bags
• containers
• boxes
• pots or tubs

Group your items into:

• clothes and textiles, such as old clothes, curtains, towels
• scrap metal, such as screws, saucepans, broken cutlery
• small electrical appliances, such as an iron, broken electric toothbrushes or mobile phone

Our video may help you separate your items

Unsorted items

If you arrive at a centre with a bag of mixed rubbish that contains recycling, a member of the team will:

• tell you where to place each item
• request that you separate it to maximise recycling

Alternatives to visiting a recycling centre

Some districts provide recycling containers, such as those located in supermarket car parks or community centres. These often collect similar items to household waste recycling centres and are often more easily accessible on foot. Some shops also offer collection points for more specific items like printer cartridges, Brita filters, and some lightbulbs.

To check out all the options we know about, use our waste wizard to search for an item and find information on where to recycle it. 

General site rules

Items deposited at our centres become the property of our contractor.

Check our other site rules and information on charges before you visit.

For full details of all our household waste recycling centre policies, please see our operating, access and waste acceptance policy (pdf format, 421 KB)

Opening hours

The sites are open from 8 am to 5 pm every day, and booking is not required unless you are using your free allowance for DIY waste.

When there are long waiting times to enter the centre, staff may assess the queue and close earlier than the advertised closing time.

Waste you can bring for free

Our recycling centres accept a variety of household recyclables and waste free of charge, including:

• garden waste
• small and large electricals
• textiles
• cardboard

Use our waste wizard to find out what you can do with your unwanted household items.

Waste that we charge for

Small amounts of non-household (DIY) waste are accepted free of charge (your free allowance). You must book a visit to use your free allowance. 

We charge for items that exceed your free allowance. See our charges for non-household waste (DIY) page for more details, including booking and the free allowance.

Pedestrian and cyclist access

Pedestrians are not permitted to enter any of Oxfordshire's waste and recycling centres. There are no segregated walkways to enable pedestrians to enter and exit the sites safely. However, we may review should opportunities arise.  

Cyclists can use the site, and you can visit with a bike trailer too. You may be able to borrow a trailer from the library of things in Oxfordshire.

Wall and railing heights

The walls and railings at our waste recycling centres are the minimum height required under national health and safety regulations. If you cannot reach over the walls or railings to deposit your waste and recycling, please bring a household member to assist you.

Using a van or trailer

Some vehicles and trailer sizes require a permit to bring waste onto a site. Other vehicle types are not allowed to enter a waste and recycling centre at all. Check if you will need a free permit before you travel to a waste and recycling centre.

Body cameras

We have introduced body-worn cameras at all Oxfordshire recycling centres. These comprise the site team's Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Signs advertising the use of body cameras and CCTV are on each site.

The cameras are for public and site staff safety and to help investigate complaints and incidents. They do not record constantly and will only be switched on if the site staff think an interaction may escalate. A staff member will tell you as soon as practical that they have started recording. When the camera is recording, it is visible by a flashing red light. You cannot ask the staff member to switch off the camera.

Viewing the footage

You can request to see video footage taken of you. You must request it in writing from Oxfordshire County Council under freedom of information and data protection laws. Your request must be within 31 days before we delete the footage from the system.

Trade and business waste

Businesses have a legal duty to dispose of their waste properly. For more information, see our page on commercial waste disposal.

The percentage of waste we recycle