People planning to use Oxfordshire’s household waste recycling centres next month are being warned about a series of short closures to enable essential work to be carried out.
For safety reasons, Oxfordshire County Council will be shutting each of its centres for two days – although never at the same time – to allow for deep cleaning and essential maintenance to take place. This includes jet washing the sites and structures, repainting lines and safety areas, as well as other general work to improve the customer experience.
The closing dates are:
- Alkerton, near Banbury: Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 March
- Ardley, near Bicester: Thursday 23 and Friday 24 March
- Dix Pit, Stanton Harcourt: Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 April
- Drayton, near Abingdon: Thursday 30 and Friday 31 March
- Oakley Wood, near Wallingford: Thursday 20 and Friday 21 April
- Redbridge, Oxford: Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 April
- Stanford, near Faringdon: Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 March.
All closures are on quieter weekdays to minimise disruption and sites will reopen at 8am the following day. Residents are asked to plan ahead, ideally holding on to their waste until the site reopens or, if that is not possible, visiting one of the neighbouring sites.
More information can be found on Oxfordshire County Council’s website, including details of your nearest alternative site during the closures.
Residents with van or trailer permits can use these at any of the HWRCs.
The cost of getting rid of non-household (DIY) waste at our recycling centres will be changing from Saturday 1 April. For a full list of the new charges, please see below:
From 1 April 2023, our DIY waste charges are increasing as follows:
| All charges at £1.50 | Increasing to £2 |
| Plasterboard bag at £2.50 | Increasing to £3.50 |
| Plasterboard sheet at £10 | No change staying at £10 |
| Tyres at £5 | Increasing to £6 |
Until 1 April, the existing prices shown below will remain in place. All income received helps offset the charges of operating the service.
What is chargeable waste?
It’s non-household or DIY waste items. As a general rule, non-household or DIY waste items are materials created from the construction, demolition, alteration or repair of a home or garden. For example, sink, bath, kitchen unit, ceramic radiator, fence panel, a bag of soil or rubble etc. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of items but a guide to the types of materials considered DIY waste.
You will still be able to dispose of all household waste free of charge at any of the county’s Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs).
Why am I being charged?
Soil, rubble, hardcore, plasterboard (gypsum) other DIY type items are classified as construction waste, not household waste, and are expensive for the council to dispose of. The council is not obliged to provide residents with a disposal site for non-household waste. However Oxfordshire County Council recognises that many householders carry out small DIY projects from time to time, and applying a small charge this allows HWRCs to continue accepting these discretionary types of non-household waste.
If you feel you have been overcharged let us know.
How much it will cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Soil, rubble and ceramic tiles per bag* | £1.50 |
| Bath | £1.50 |
| Toilet pan | £1.50 |
| Cistern | £1.50 |
| Washbasin or kitchen sink | £1.50 |
| Shower door or shower tray | £1.50 |
| Ceramic radiator | £1.50 |
| Kitchen worktop | £1.50 |
| Fitted furniture – including fitted wardrobes, bedroom and kitchen units/cupboards (free-standing wardrobes/cupboards, e.g. those that you may take with you when you move, are free of charge).” | £1.50 |
| Standard door | £1.50 |
| Window frame (no glass) | £1.50 |
| Sheet of glass (e.g. window pane, or glass used in construction/demolition) | £1.50 |
| Water tank | £1.50 |
| Fence/shed panel | £1.50 |
| Wood from construction/demolition (including railway sleepers), floorboards/laminate flooring and offcuts of wood/other DIY wood waste – equivalent size to a door | £1.50 |
| Guttering or drain pipe up to 3m | £1.50 |
| Roof felt tiles or sections of roof felt – smaller than 1.5m x1.5m | £1.50 |
| Roll of roof felt up to 3mx5m | £1.50 |
| Loft insulation up to 3m | £1.50 |
| Plaster/plasterboard per bag ** | £2.50 |
| Plasterboard sheet up to 2m x 1m ** | £10 |
| Car or motorcycle tyre | £5 |
*A bag is approximately 20L in size or the equivalent volume of loose material. Part bags will be charged as per whole. Other DIY items may be liable to be charged at a similar rate as stated in the table.
**Plasterboard will only be accepted at Redbridge, Dix Pit and Ardley Fields Household Waste Recycling Centres.
There will be no charge for metal non-household items.
How can I pay?
All payments should be made by electronic means, all of our sites accept contactless payments and Apple/Samsung Pay etc.
