Kirklees Together

Changes to household waste and recycling centres as a result of COVID -19

The government says that you can only visit a household waste site if your waste or recycling cannot be stored at home safely or disposed of safely by other means.

This means you can only take waste that cannot be stored without causing risk of injury, health or harm.

No other reason for the journey is legitimate.

If you can temporarily store your waste or recycling in a way that does not pose a risk to yours or others safety or human health, then you must do so.

What other ways are there to get rid of my waste?

We are still offering a full waste and recycling collection from kerbside so please continue to use your bins as normal.

We are also still offering our garden waste service and bulky waste collections for a fee.

If you cannot store items at home, you could make use of retailer take-back services or make your old items available for re-use via on-line platforms such as Freecycle or Gumtree. Make sure you follow social distancing and related guidance and that it is safe for you to move the items in question.

Donate your items

This may also be a good opportunity to repair, repurpose or re-use items such as old furniture or clothes yourself that you would usually throw away.

If none of these options are available to you, you could use a private registered waste collection company, although there will be a cost if you do this. Remember, you have a duty to make sure you know where your waste is going and to ensure that the person collecting your waste is registered.

Check if your waste collector is registered (Environment Agency’s website).

Please don’t burn or fly tip

You must not dispose of household waste in a way that could harm people’s health. This includes burning it – burning household waste is an offence, liable to prosecution. Fires can also quickly become uncontrollable and injure people. Bonfire smoke is not only annoying for your neighbours, but it could also irritate the chests of people with respiratory conditions who may be self-isolating nearby.  This means if it is a warm day, the only way they can escape the smoke is to close windows and hide inside.

Don’t fly-tip or dump waste it’s a crime. Leaving items on the street or in parks, woodlands and fields could leave you with a fine of up to £400, or prosecution. Even if you mean well, leaving items outside charity shops, or next to full recycling bins, is still fly-tipping.

Report fly-tipping

Where do I find out more about the changes?

There are new rules and changes to the waste we can collect at the household waste sites,  please check our website for more details.

Learn more about our household waste recycling service