Recycling centres terms and conditions
By using this service, you are confirming that:
- The waste is from your household and is not generated through any business activity or as a result of a tradesperson carrying out work at your home
- You are a resident of the Essex County Council area.* If you are unsure of your local council area you can check here.
* Residents from nearby areas in Suffolk or Hertfordshire can also visit the sites. This is thanks to reciprocal partnerships with Suffolk County Council and Hertfordshire County Council allowing cross-border use.
When accessing any recycling centre in any vehicle, or a van-friendly site in a van, pick-up or large trailer** you must:
- Pre-book site access
- Bring a copy of your booking confirmation (a valid email address is needed to receive this) and proof of residency within the Essex County area (if using a hire vehicle, you will also need to bring a copy of your hire agreement) and ensure this is available for inspection by site staff prior to unloading your vehicle
- Users should ensure their vehicle is safely parked with the engine off before displaying their booking confirmation on their mobile device.
- Only access the site in the vehicle detailed in your booking confirmation
- Only attempt to gain access to a van-friendly site at the time detailed in your booking confirmation, and at least 15 minutes before the end of your booking slot
- Only attempt to gain access to the recycling centre at the time detailed in your booking, and at least 5 minutes before the end of your booking slot.
- Unload your waste within 15 minutes of arriving in the unloading area of the recycling centre (or 20 minutes for a van/pick-up/large trailer)
- Adhere to the recycling centre policy and site restrictions
**exemption for Blue Badge holders
Please be aware:
- Failure to follow these conditions may result in your access to the recycling centre service being withdrawn
- We reserve the right to cancel any multiple bookings in a 7 day period that are deemed as excessive usage. Excessive use of sites may lead to access being withdrawn or limited
- Essex County Council (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
- Abusive or threatening behaviour towards site staff will not be tolerated and may result in prosecution or access to this service being withdrawn
Further information
What does Essex County Council define as a van, pick-up or large trailer?
Recycling centre booking system