What you can bring to our Household Waste & Recycling Centres

What you can bring to our Household Waste & Recycling Centres

Accepted materials

Our 3 centres accept a wide variety of household and domestic waste. We do not accept asbestos or items containing asbestos.  We also do not accept clinical waste. No trade waste is permitted under any circumstances. We are only able to accept small amounts of building waste, rubble, soil and plasterboard at Byker and Walbottle sites only. Please make sure any batteries are removed from items, as they need to be disposed of separately.  We cannot accept car batteries at Brunswick.

The sites are only for the use of Newcastle residents.

The bulk of the waste is sent for recycling. Non-recyclable waste (e.g. mixed waste in a black bag) is accepted for disposal at landfill. You can help us recycle more by sorting your waste correctly. You can also check items on our A-Z of Recycling.

Please note that sometimes containers become full.  When this happens the site may need closing for a short time to enable containers to be moved or compacted. Sometimes we might not be able to accept certain items  as we need to wait for recycling contractors to come and collect the full containers. 

Please ask a site attendant if you require any assistance. Information about special items can be found further down this page.

What do sites accept for recycling?WalbottleBrunswickByker
Batteries (domestic)YesYesYes
Batteries (vehicle)YesNoYes
BooksYesYesYes
Domestic DIY waste - small amounts onlyYesNoYes
CansYesYesYes
CardboardYesYesYes
CarpetsYesYesYes
Cartons (Tetrapak, etc.)YesYesYes
CDs/DVDsYesYesYes
Domestic Waste (general domestic or household waste - bagged or boxed)YesYesYes
Electrical and electronic equipment (all batteries must be removed*)YesYesYes
Fire Extinguisher (Maximum 1kg - small, domestic use)YesYesYes
Fluorescent tubes and low energy bulbsYesYesYes
FridgesYesNoNo
Furniture like wardrobes or drawers - make sure any glass panels are tapedYesYesYes
Garden vegetationYesYesYes
Gas  bottles - small onlyYesYesYes
Glass bottles and jarsYesYesYes
MattressesYesYesYes
Newspaper/magazines/phone booksYesYesYes
Oil (motor/engine oil)YesYesYes
Oil (vegetable oil)YesYesYes
Paint (Water Based Dry cans only - no liquid)YesYesYes
Plastic bottlesYesYesYes
Plasterboard - small amounts onlyYesYesYes
Rubble and soil - small amounts onlyYesNoYes
SofasYesYesYes
TextilesYesYesYes
TimberYesYesYes
Televisions and monitors (CRTs)YesYesYes
White goods/domestic appliances (not including fridges)YesYesYes

*Batteries 

Please remove any batteries from items you are bringing. Make sure they are disposed of  correctly on the site. This means making sure batteries are removed from things like old mobile phones, remote controls, children's toys, bathroom scales and torches. Single use vape devices also contain batteries so these need to be disposed of on site.

Sharps

There are two options for disposal of sharps (needles from syringes and whole syringes) 

  • Dispose of them with the primary or secondary health care service that first issued them. Your local GP can help with this. 

  • If that is not possible, pharmacies that provide needle exchange services will accept sharps for any condition, include diabetes.

Needles must never be disposed of in general waste or black bags. They need to be put inside yellow sharps boxes. These are not accepted at any of our sites.

Chemicals (e.g. turpentine, weed killer)

Please ensure any chemicals are in the original container, labelled and sealed. Please hand over any of these items to one of our attendants. They will secure the items so please do not just leave them by the skips or on the ground.

Old tyres

Old tyres are accepted at all sites but there is a limit of 4 per vehicle. Please let a site attendant know if you have tyres to dispose of. We do not accept any other vehicle parts.

Fireworks, Firearms and Ammunition

We cannot accept any kind of firework or ammunition at any of our sites.  Please check with the Fire Service for disposal advice.  Guidance on safe disposal of fireworks may be available from the retailer or manufacturer of the firework.

Animal waste

Please note we do not accept animal waste of any kind at any of our three centres.

Liquid paints and varnish

Empty and clean metal varnish or paint tins can be recycled at the sites in the scrap metal container. But any tins and pots still containing liquid paint or varnish cannot be accepted. You need to mix it with sawdust, soil or sand and let it dry out.  It then should be given to the site attendants to dispose of.

Did you know?

Our Important Site Rules

We will be carrying out random residency checks for all site users.

If you need to check your local authority area, you can use the Local Authority Checker provided by the government.

We strongly advise that all users check that the vehicle they plan to use meets these rules before travelling to the site. This helps to prevent queues, improve safety and reduce delays being caused to other customers.

The following vehicles are not allowed:

  • Vehicles over 2m high
  • Vehicles over 6m long
  • Vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes
  • Trailers exceeding 3m (including the tow bar)
  • Dropside vans and Tipper/Flatbed vans

Please note that  height restriction barriers are implemented at all three of our Household Waste Recycling Centres. Vehicles over 2m high won't be able to access any of the sites, as they don't conform with Vehicle Permit Terms and Conditions.

Our staff will not let in vehicles if they do not meet these regulations. The barriers will not be moved or lifted.

Need more information?

If you are not sure if you can take an item to a site, please phone 0191 2787878 and ask for "Your Local Services." Staff will be able to help you.

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