Bath Recycling Centre: opening times, booking and what you can take

Last checked: 4 August 2026. We use these sites most weeks and we keep this page current. Opening times do change, so if you're making a special trip it's worth a quick look at the council's own page too.

Two things catch people out at Bath's recycling centre. The Midland Road site is closed all day Tuesday, and you can't just turn up: you need to book a slot online first, and without one you'll be turned away at the gate.

This guide covers all three recycling centres in Bath and North East Somerset, what you can take, and the rules on vans, trailers and building waste. We're a Bath waste removal company, not the council, so we've linked to the official pages wherever you need to book or apply for something.

Opening times

Last entry is 15 minutes before closing time at all three sites. Arrive after that and you won't get in, even if the gates are still open. On a Saturday afternoon in particular, give yourself more time than you think you need.

All three are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

The addresses:

• Bath Recycling Centre - Midland Road, Bath, BA1 3AT. It's off the Upper Bristol Road, and most people still call it the Midland Road tip.
• Keynsham Recycling Centre - Worlds End Lane, Keynsham, BS31 1TW. Access is via Ashmead Road. Don't confuse it with the waste transfer station on Pixash Lane, which is a separate site for businesses.
• Midsomer Norton Recycling Centre - Old Welton, Wheelers Hill, Midsomer Norton, BA3 2AA.

Which site should you use?

If you'd rather not book, go to Keynsham. It's the only one of the three you can turn up at, and for a lot of Bath residents the extra ten minutes in the car is worth skipping the booking system.

Bath is the closest for anyone in the city, but it has the fewest days available once you account for the Tuesday closure and the booking cap. If you're in the Midsomer Norton or Radstock direction, Old Welton is the obvious choice, just watch the Thursday closure.

Booking a slot at Bath or Midsomer Norton

Booking is free. You do it through the council's online system, and you'll need your vehicle registration number.

A few things worth knowing before you start:

• You can only book four appointments a week, counted Monday to Sunday, which sounds generous until you're clearing a house
• Bring the confirmation email, on your phone is fine
• The registration you book with should be the vehicle you actually arrive in
• Slots for weekends go quickly, so book earlier in the week if you can

You can book a recycling centre slot on the council website.

Keynsham doesn't use the booking system at all. You can just turn up during opening hours.

What to bring with you

These are B&NES sites for B&NES residents, and staff do check. Bring one of the following:

• Driving licence
• Discovery card
• Council Tax bill
• A recent utility bill

Staff aren't there to unload your car. They'll point you at the right container and keep an eye on things, but if you can't lift it yourself, bring someone who can.

Taking a van, pick-up or trailer

You need a free permit for:

• Any van up to and including 3.5 tonnes, including crew cabs with a bulkhead behind the seats
• Pick-up trucks, and yes, that includes Land Rover Defenders
• Single-axle trailers with a floor length between 1.8m and 2.4m

These are not allowed on site at all, permit or not:

• Anything over 3.5 tonnes gross weight
• Trailers with a floor length over 2.4m
• Multi-axle trailers

Permits are free and you apply for them through the council. The catch is that they only work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and those days collide with the closures. Worked out per site, a permit gets you:

• Bath: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday
• Keynsham: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday
• Midsomer Norton: Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday

So if you've borrowed a van for a Sunday clear-out, that's not going to work anywhere in the district.

What you can take

The everyday things are all fine: garden waste, cardboard, wood, glass, plastics, textiles, household batteries and electricals. The council keeps a full A to Z of what goes where and it's worth a look before you load up, because a lot of items go in a different container to the one you'd guess.

Anything that can be reused gets pulled out for charities and sale days rather than being thrown in a skip, so if your furniture is still in decent condition, say so when you arrive.

The building waste limit

Soil, rubble, ceramics and plasterboard are limited to two 50-litre bags, or one bulky item, per week. You can make a maximum of four visits in any four-week period.

Two bags isn't much. A bathroom rip-out, a patio lift or a chimney breast removal will produce more than that in the first hour, and at two bags a week you're looking at months of Saturday mornings. That limit applies across all three sites, so there's no getting round it by driving to Keynsham instead.

If you've gone past it, that's the point where hiring someone becomes cheaper than your own time. We take rubble and hardcore without a limit. Get a quote and we'll tell you what it costs before we turn up.

Business and trade waste isn't accepted

The recycling centres are for household waste only. If you're a builder, a landlord clearing a rental, or a business of any size, you can't use them.

Trade waste goes to the council's waste transfer station at Pixash Lane, Keynsham, BS31 1TP, open Monday to Thursday 8am to 3.30pm and Friday until 3pm. You have to be a registered waste carrier to use it, and operating without registration carries an unlimited fine.

If that sounds like more admin than you want, that's what we're for. We're a licensed carrier, we handle the paperwork, and we cover office and commercial clearances across Bath.

What's happening with the move to Locksbrook Road

The Midland Road site is being replaced by a new recycling centre on Locksbrook Road, because the Midland Road land has planning permission for more than 170 new homes as part of the Bath Western Riverside scheme.

Where things stand at the moment:

• Midland Road is still open and still the Bath site. Nothing has changed yet.
• The council has said Midland Road will stay open until the Locksbrook centre is up and running.
• The new centre was originally due to open in summer 2026. The most recent council statement pushed that to later in the year, and the Environment Agency permit hadn't been granted when we last checked.

We're not going to guess at an opening date, because the published one has already moved once. When the new site opens we'll update this page with the address and the times.

If you can't get to the tip

There are four situations where the recycling centres simply won't work:

Your vehicle is too big. Over 3.5 tonnes, or a trailer longer than 2.4m, and you'll be turned away at the gate.

You have more building waste than the limit allows. Two 50-litre bags a week doesn't get a bathroom out of the house.

You can't get a slot, don't drive, or can't lift it. A wardrobe on the second floor of a Georgian townhouse isn't a one-person job, and the council's own bulky collection service will only take things from the kerbside.

It's business waste. You're not allowed on site.

Kwik Waste is a Bath man-and-van clearance service. We load it, we carry it down the stairs, and we deal with the disposal. Most jobs can be done the same day. Small jobs start from £100, and larger clearances are priced on the weight of what we take away, so you only pay for what you actually throw out.

We're a registered waste carrier, licence number CBDU635149, and you can check that on the Environment Agency's public register. It's worth checking for anyone you hire, not just us, because if your waste is fly-tipped it's you the council comes to.

Call 07981 102602 or request a quote and we'll come back to you within 24 hours.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bath Recycling Centre still open?

Yes. The Midland Road site is open as normal and will stay open until the new Locksbrook Road centre is running. It's closed on Tuesdays, and you need to book a slot before you go.

Can I book a time slot at Bath Recycling Centre online for free?

Yes, booking is completely free. You book through the council's website and you'll need your vehicle registration number. You can only book four appointments a week, counted Monday to Sunday.

Do I have to pay to use the tip?

No. Household waste is free for B&NES residents at all three sites. There are limits on building waste, and businesses can't use the centres at all.

Can I take an old bath to the tip?

You can. A bath counts as ceramics or plastics depending on what it's made of, so an acrylic bath goes with rigid plastics, while a cast iron one goes to scrap metal. If it's a full bathroom rip-out with tiles and rubble as well, check the building waste limit first, because that's where you'll run out of allowance.

Can I go on foot or by bike?

You can cycle to Bath and Keynsham without booking, though expect to queue behind cars. Midsomer Norton doesn't allow pedestrian access.

What if I live just outside B&NES?

Then you can't use these sites. Residents of Wiltshire, Somerset Council or Bristol need to use their own authority's centres. We cover Bath and the surrounding area including Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon, Frome and Chippenham, so we can help if you're just over the border.

What are the recycling rules in Bath?

You need to live in B&NES and prove it, book ahead for Bath and Midsomer Norton, arrive at least 15 minutes before closing, and stay inside the building waste limit of two 50-litre bags a week. Vans, pick-ups and trailers need a free permit and can only visit on set days.