Cheltenham's household recycling centre at Swindon Road
Tighter regulations force review of the household recycling centre
Changing legislation and enhanced kerbside collection services have prompted a review of Cheltenham’s waste and recycling services. Cabinet members met on 26 November to discuss the future of the household recycling centre (HRC), which included agreeing a prolonged closure to the public whilst a full review of options takes place.
The prolonged closure will mean that the last day that the site is open to the public will be 10 January 2025.
Find out more about the HRC review in our news story
Read the FAQs about the HRC review
Find out about alternative recycling options available
Christmas opening hours
Please see our Christmas opening hours page.
Check the changes to bin collections over the Christmas and New Year period.
Please remember that garden waste collections will be suspended at the end of the day on Friday 20 December 2024. Collections will restart from Monday 20 January 2025.
On this page:
- Who can visit
- Book to use the Swindon Road household recycling centre
- Opening hours
- Location
- Before your visit
- When you visit
- Vehicles
- What can I recycle at Swindon Road?
- Other household recycling centres
- If you cannot visit
Who can visit
Cheltenham Borough Council’s household recycling centre is provided so that residents who live in the borough can dispose of their rubbish and recycling.
To be able to visit you must:
- live within the area covered by Cheltenham Borough Council
- pre-book a time slot
Book to use the Swindon Road household recycling centre
You will need to book in advance to use the Swindon Road household recycling centre. Booking is quick, simple and removes the need to queue on site. You can book up to three months in advance.
Or call 01242 262626. The council’s business hours are 9am to 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and 10am to 5pm on Wednesdays (excluding bank holidays).
- Please arrive within your booked time slot and separate materials before coming to site
- You must arrive in the vehicle you registered when booking.
If you require further information, please view our frequently asked questions page.
Opening hours
Please see our Christmas opening hours page.
|
Day of the week |
Opening hours |
|---|---|
|
Monday |
8.30am - 4pm |
|
Tuesday |
8.30am - 4pm |
|
Wednesday |
Closed in line with Gloucestershire County Council sites |
|
Thursday |
8.30am - 4pm |
|
Friday |
8.30am - 4pm |
|
Saturday |
8.30am - 3pm |
|
Sunday |
9am - 12 pm |
Last entry
Please be aware that the household recycling centre must close on the hour. To allow us to clear the site and lock the gates on time, last entry on a typical day is:
- 15 - 30 minutes before closing, depending on the length of the queue on the entrance road to the site
On particularly busy days these times may be earlier.
Please bear these time restrictions in mind if attempting to visit a site towards the end of the opening hours.
Times may vary over bank holidays. Please check the bank holiday collections page for any changes to your kerbside collections.
Please make full use of your kerbside waste collection service. You can recycle card, paper, glass, plastic pots, tubs and trays and also tins and cans at home, including food waste and garden waste. For further details visit our waste and recycling page.
Location
Address
Central Depot, Swindon Road, Cheltenham, GL51 9JZ.
Location map
You can contact the recycling centre on 01242 262626 or email [email protected]. The council’s business hours are 9am to 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and 10am to 5pm on Wednesdays (excluding bank holidays).
Staff are on site to help if you need any assistance.
Before your visit
Please check that you have made a booking using our online form or call 01242 262626. The council’s business hours are 9am to 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and 10am to 5pm on Wednesdays (excluding bank holidays).
Prepare your rubbish and recycling:
- Sort your waste by type so that is easy and quick to unload at the site
- Break your rubbish and recycling down to be lighter and less bulky
- Use strong bags or containers so that waste is easier to hold and carry
Keep yourself safe
You can take simple steps to keep yourself safe and reduce the risk of injury. You should:
- Wear suitable clothing and sensible footwear
- Wear strong gloves
- Use both hands to carry items
When you visit
Once inside our site
When you enter the site please:
- Follow the one way system of traffic
- Stay in your car if there is a queue to enter
- Park in the bays provided and allocated by site staff
- Whilst using the site please use the walkways provided around the perimeter of the parking bays
- If you require assistance due to disability or mobility issues please notify a member of staff upon arrival who will be happy to assist. Alternatively, please bring a family member or friend to assist if possible
- Children under the age of 16 must remain within the vehicle
Residents using this recycling centre site do so at their own risk and are expected to follow the pedestrian walkways and the instructions provided by the centre staff.
Zero tolerance policy
The household recycling centre operates a zero tolerance policy with regards to violence and aggression. Please be polite and respectful to site staff at all times. Any physical or verbal abuse of our staff will not be tolerated. Anyone found to be abusive towards our staff may be reported to the police along with relevant CCTV footage.
Vehicles
Please check that the vehicle that you plan to use complies with the site rules before visiting. This helps to prevent queues improves safety and reduces delays for other visitors.
Vans, trailers and large loads
Vans and pickup trucks, whether or not privately owned, are not permitted. Small household trailers (no larger than 6ft by 4ft) are accepted but must not be detached from the vehicle, so the items will need to be liftable. Twin wheel/double axel trailers are not accepted on the site.
Staff on site are happy to assist with unloading large domestic appliances, however please note 1 tonne builders bags are not accepted on this site.
If you have a large load, you may find it easier to use the county council recycling centre at Wingmoor Farm, Bishop's Cleeve. The site is better equipped and has more capacity to receive large loads of household waste. The site also accepts types of waste not permitted at Swindon Road, such as DIY rubble.
Cargo bikes
We allow cargo bikes to access the household recycling centre. Cyclists will be treated the same as vehicles. Cyclists must join the vehicle queue and wait to be admitted by a member of staff. Attempting to jump the vehicle queue will not be tolerated and may result in your access being refused. Please park your bicycle in a marked parking bay as directed by site staff and be aware of other vehicles when moving around the site. We recommend that you wear high visibility clothing when moving around the site on your bicycle.
No pedestrian access
Pedestrian movement at the household recycling centre is something the site staff monitor on a daily basis to ensure the site is safe for members of the public to access. Whilst every effort has been made to minimise the dangers that are on site, there will always remain a danger of pedestrians or cyclists coming into contact with moving vehicles. Therefore, for health and safetly reasons, we don't allow people to access the Swindon Road household recycling centre on foot. This is in line with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance for pedestrian access which states that the household recycling centre would require ‘separate routes or pavements for pedestrians, to keep them away from vehicles.’ This is not possible at the Swindon Road household recycling centre, as although there is a footpath that goes into the site, this footpath ends before the entrance to the site and residents would be put in danger of passing motor vehicles.
What can I recycle at Swindon Road?
| Material | Yes please |
No thanks |
|---|---|---|
|
Mixed plastics |
All types of plastic bottles: milk/squash/drinks bottles; cleaning/bleach/detergent bottles; toiletry bottles. Yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, ice cream tubs, ready-meal trays and plastic fruit punnets. Please rinse out bottles and containers and squash. |
Plastic bags or cling film (or any other kind of film), polystyrene |
|
Hard plastics (we are temporarily unable to accept hard plastics at the recycling centre until further notice) |
Plastic garden furniture, plastic storage crates and boxes, plastics buckets and pipes, plastic sheeting that you see on sheds and greenhouses, and plastic buckets |
Items with electronics, batteries or glass Items containing metal, such as children's toys Paint pots Items containing chemicals, such as chemical toilet cassettes |
|
Mixed glass bottles and jars |
Clean glass jars, glass bottles (all colours) |
Window panes, glass milk bottles |
|
Mixed textiles, clothing and shoes |
Please place clothes and shoes in separate containers |
|
|
Cartons |
Cartons such as those for fruit juice and long life milk. Please rinse out and flatten |
|
|
Video tapes, DVD's |
Video cassettes and DVD accepted |
|
|
Wood and timber |
|
Please remove large pieces of iron mongery, for example latches, hinges and bolts |
|
Garden waste |
|
1 tonne builders bags are not accepted on site, soil is not accepted on site |
|
Large domestic appliances |
Only washing machines, dishwashers, electric cookers, and tumble dryers (non-heat pump) - must be domestic only |
Heat pump tumble dryers should be placed with the cooling (refrigeration) waste stream |
|
Fluorescent tubes |
|
|
|
Fridges and freezers/Cooling (refrigeration) |
Fridges, freezers and heat pump tumble dryers - must be domestic only |
No commercial fridges accepted |
|
Batteries |
Household batteries, car batteries |
|
|
Low energy bulbs |
|
|
|
Small electrical items |
Such as television sets, microwaves, video/DVD recorders, radios, desk fans, electric heaters |
|
|
Food tins and drink cans |
Food tins, drink cans, pet food cans, empty aerosol cans, aluminium food trays and foil. Please rinse out and squash |
Dirty cans/food trays, pet food pouches, crisp packets, paint tins |
|
Aluminium foil |
Aluminium food trays and foil. Please make sure they are clean. |
Dirty food trays/foil |
|
Scrap metal |
|
|
|
Paper |
Newspapers, magazines, shredded paper, junk mail, telephone directories, catalogues, white office paper, envelopes (plastic windows can be left in place) |
Wet or dirty paper, wallpaper, wrapping paper or gift wrap, books |
|
Used engine oil |
Residents can dispose of a maximum of 10 litres per visit, for larger amounts please contact a commercial waste carrier. |
|
|
Used cooking oil |
Residents can dispose of a maximum of 5 litres per visit. |
|
|
Cardboard |
Please flatten boxes and remove plastic film |
|
|
Coffee pods |
|
|
Items that cannot be accepted at the recycling centre:
- DIY and builders' rubble, including asbestos or plaster board
- soil
- books
- tyres
- paint
- gas bottles
- car parts
- hazardous waste including asbestos
- clinical waste
- animal waste
- trade waste
- commercial waste
- toilets
- hand basins
- nitrous oxide canisters
- mattresses
- upholstered furniture. This includes sofas, sofa beds, armchairs, kitchen and dining room chairs, stools and footstalls, home office chairs, futons, bean bags, floor and sofa cushions
Please note 1 tonne builders bags are not accepted on site.
Ask the waste wizard where to repair, recycle, donate or dispose of your items
Other household recycling centres
Visit the Recycle for Gloucestershire website to find out about other recycling centres in the county.
If you cannot visit a recycling centre
If you cannot visit the household recycling centre or another recycling centre in the county, we offer a paid for bulky waste collection service.