Greenford tip is open 8am to 4pm from October, shut Wednesdays and Thursdays, and turns away anyone without a booking. Van slots, charges and what it takes.
Ealing has one household tip, the Greenford Road reuse and recycling centre at Greenford Road, Greenford UB6 9AP, known to most residents simply as Greenford tip, and it runs on winter hours from 1 October: 8am to 4pm on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, closed to the public every Wednesday and Thursday. You must book a slot before you go. Residents who turn up without one are not let in.
The quick answer
- Winter hours, 1 October to 31 March: 8am to 4pm, five days a week, last booking slot 3pm to 3.30pm. Summer hours, 1 April to 30 September, are 8am to 5pm.
- Closed every Wednesday and Thursday, and on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
- Booking is compulsory: up to two slots per household per week, 30 minutes each, bookable up to two weeks ahead. Bring photo ID and proof of address.
Source: Ealing Council, Greenford Road reuse and recycling centre and Booking a recycling centre time slot.
Opening hours
| Day | 1 October to 31 March | 1 April to 30 September |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 8am to 4pm | 8am to 5pm |
| Tuesday | 8am to 4pm | 8am to 5pm |
| Wednesday | Closed | Closed |
| Thursday | Closed | Closed |
| Friday | 8am to 4pm | 8am to 5pm |
| Saturday | 8am to 4pm | 8am to 5pm |
| Sunday | 8am to 4pm | 8am to 5pm |
In winter the last booking slot is 3pm to 3.30pm and the weighbridge closes at 3.30pm. In summer both move an hour later. The council asks you to “allow yourself plenty of time for unloading”.
The West London Waste Authority, which runs the site for the six west London boroughs, gives the same five days and the same 8am to 4pm on its Greenford Road page. Note one difference in wording: the waste authority says you are “advised to book in advance”, while Ealing Council says you must, and that “residents arriving without a booking will not be allowed entry”. Treat the council’s version as the rule.
Christmas and new year
The centre is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and otherwise open on its normal winter days and hours. That is the standing rule on the council’s page, and it is what happened last year: the council’s Christmas 2025 service notice said the centre “will be open as usual from 8am to 4pm, except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day” (Ealing Council, 18 December 2025).
For 2026 the dates work out as:
- Friday 25 December: closed.
- Saturday 26 December: closed, if “Boxing Day” means the day itself. The bank holiday is observed on Monday 28 December this year (GOV.UK), and the council has not yet said whether the Monday is also a closure day.
- Friday 1 January 2027: closed.
- Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 December: closed as normal, so the only open days between Christmas and the new year are likely to be Tuesday 29 December and possibly Monday 28 December.
The council’s 2026 notice is expected in mid-December. Real Christmas trees can be taken to Greenford Road in January, with a booking; the kerbside alternative is on our Ealing Christmas bin collections page.
How booking works
- Book at the West London Waste Authority’s booking site for Greenford Road.
- Two slots per household per week, each 30 minutes.
- You can book up to two weeks in advance. New slots are added every day, so the council’s advice if you cannot find one is to keep checking.
- Cars, motorcycles and cyclists only. Pedestrians are not allowed on site.
- Bring photo ID and proof of address. Vans and anything over 1.8 metres tall must enter via the weighbridge.
- Cars are allowed on site for a maximum of 30 minutes, so sort your load before you arrive.
If you are in a hire car or hire van with your own household waste, you need the hire agreement, proof of address and photo ID before you can tip free.
Greenford tip: getting a slot, and the van problem
Greenford tip appears under three names, which is why searches for it turn up different pages. Ealing Council calls it the Greenford Road reuse and recycling centre, the West London Waste Authority calls it Greenford Road HRRC, and the booking system lists it as Greenford Reuse and Recycling Centre, Greenford Rd, Greenford UB6 9AP. They are the same site, and it is the only one in the borough.
The booking system offers two kinds of slot:
| Booking | Slot length | First slot | Last slot (winter) | Slots a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car | 30 minutes | 8am | 3pm | 15 |
| Van | 60 minutes | 8am | 2pm | 7 |
Cars are easy to book; van slots are the scarce ones. When we read the booking calendar on Friday 9 October 2026, every car slot from Saturday 10 to Tuesday 20 October still had space, but across the same ten open days only four of the 70 van slots were free: one on Monday 12, one on Monday 19 and two on Tuesday 20 October. Every weekend van slot was taken. If you need a van, book the moment the date opens, two weeks ahead, and expect a weekday.
Two more things the calendar shows. Wednesdays and Thursdays never appear at all, because the site is closed to the public on both days. And dates more than two weeks out show no free slots, because they have not been released yet rather than because they are full: new days are added every day, which is why the council’s advice is to keep checking back.
When you arrive, vans and anything over 1.8 metres tall go through the weighbridge, and every visitor needs photo ID and proof of an Ealing address. Pedestrians are turned away, so a load you planned to walk in needs a car, motorbike or bicycle.
What it takes, and what it charges for
Most household waste is free. The council’s list of accepted items includes mattresses, paint (sent for reuse through Community Repaint), garden waste, fridges and freezers (one per household per visit, kept apart from scrap metal), cardboard, electricals (lithium batteries removed and recycled separately), household plastics, paper, cans, coffee pods, mobile phones, cooking and engine oil, all household and car batteries, and boilers and storage tanks as long as they contain no asbestos.
Three limits and charges catch people out:
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Mattresses | Up to 2 free every 12 months. More than 2 at a time, or more than 2 visits a year, counts as trade waste at £15 per mattress |
| DIY and building waste | Free allowance each week of 2 x 50-litre rubble bags, or one item no bigger than 2m x 0.75m x 0.7m. Above that, £28.55 per 100kg, weighed on the weighbridge. The allowance does not roll over |
| Asbestos | Not accepted in any form. Cement-bonded asbestos goes to Abbey Road in Brent |
The chargeable DIY list is long: soil, turf, fencing, sheds, greenhouses, bricks, rubble, slabs, tiles, slates, roofing, tarmac, plasterboard, plaster, timber, doors, windows, floorboards, skirting, kitchen and bathroom units, plumbing and wiring. Paint, carpets, underlay, washing machines, fridges and freezers stay free for residents if sorted for recycling and you show ID.
The West London Waste Authority notes on its site that the government announced on 18 June a change in the law to let householders deposit DIY waste free, but that it is still waiting for the detail and “will continue current charging policies” in the meantime. So the £28.55 rate still applies until that changes.
Anyone bringing trade waste, or DIY waste in a van, is directed through the weighbridge and charged at commercial rates.
The alternatives if Greenford Road is full or shut
Ealing residents can use other West London Waste Authority sites, with the same booking, ID and charging rules (Ealing Council):
- Space Waye, Feltham (Hounslow): North Feltham Trading Estate, Pier Road, TW14 0TH.
- Townmead Road, Kew (Richmond): off Mortlake Road, TW9 4EL.
- Abbey Road, Park Royal (Brent): NW10 7TJ. The only one that takes cement-bonded asbestos.
Harrow’s Forward Drive site and Hillingdon’s Harefield site are listed for trade waste only. Each site’s hours are set by its own borough, so check before booking.
If the trip is the problem rather than the item, the council collects up to six bulky items from your door for £30. The rules and the exclusions, including the red-route ban, are on our Ealing bin collection days page.
Greenford tip: quick answers
Is Greenford tip open today?
It is open Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 8am to 4pm from 1 October to 31 March and 8am to 5pm from 1 April to 30 September. It is closed every Wednesday and Thursday, and on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Do I need to book Greenford tip?
Yes. Ealing Council says residents who arrive without a booking will not be let in. Each household can book two 30-minute slots a week, up to two weeks ahead, on the West London Waste Authority booking site.
Can I take a van to Greenford tip?
Yes, with a van booking, which is a separate 60-minute slot. Vans must enter over the weighbridge, and DIY or building waste in a van is charged. Van slots run out far faster than car slots, so book as soon as the date opens.
What is the postcode for Greenford tip?
UB6 9AP. The site is on Greenford Road, Greenford.
Does Greenford tip charge?
Most household waste is free. DIY and building waste above the weekly free allowance costs £28.55 per 100kg, and more than two mattresses in 12 months costs £15 per mattress. Asbestos is not accepted at all.
Still to be confirmed
- Whether Monday 28 December, the substitute bank holiday, is a closure day as well as Saturday 26 December. Expected in the council’s festive service notice in mid-December.
- When the free DIY waste rule takes effect, which the waste authority says depends on government detail not yet issued.
This page was checked against the council’s and the waste authority’s pages on 9 October 2026, and the van and car slot figures were read from the West London Waste booking calendar the same day.
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