Ashford Tip Opening Times: 8am to 4.30pm, Book First

Ashford tip is the Kent County Council household waste recycling centre on the Cobbs Wood Industrial Estate, Brunswick Road, TN23 1EL. It is open seven days a week, but you cannot simply turn up: every visit needs a booked slot, and the council’s page for the site says plainly that “entry without booking is not permitted”.

Every detail below was read from Kent County Council’s own pages, linked beside each one, first on 25 September 2026 and checked again on 4 October 2026.

The quick answer

Ashford tip is open 8am to 4.30pm, Monday to Saturday, and 9am to 4pm on Sunday. You must book a slot online before you go, on the same day or up to two weeks ahead, and there is no limit on how many times you visit in a day. Kent has not yet published its Christmas 2026 hours; they go on the centre’s own page.

Opening hours

Source: Kent County Council, Ashford Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Bank holidays: the Ashford page itself carries no bank holiday line, unlike the Maidstone and New Romney pages, which both read “Bank holidays: 9am to 4pm”. Kent’s on-site rules page settles it for every centre: they close “at either 4:30pm Monday to Saturday, or 4pm on Sunday and bank holidays”. The booking system shows whether slots exist on the day.

Ashford tip booking: how to book a slot

Booking takes a couple of minutes on Kent’s HWRC booking form. Before it lets you choose Cobbs Wood and a time, it asks you to tick that you are bringing domestic waste from your own household, not trade waste, and that you understand a van or other restricted vehicle also needs a vehicle voucher. Kent’s booking page sets the rules:

• Book on the same day or up to two weeks in advance.
• There is no limit on the number of visits in a day.
• The booking system was changed recently: there is no customer account any more.
• If you cannot use the online system, call 03000 41 73 73, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
• Bring your booking reference, on your phone, handwritten or printed, and your vehicle voucher if your vehicle needs one.

The council also asks you to sort your load before you arrive, grouping electricals, paper and textiles together.

Cancelling, changing the car, and no-shows

To cancel or move a slot, use the link in your confirmation email. If you turn up in a different vehicle from the one you booked, you do not need to rebook: bring the booking reference and tell the staff when you arrive. Kent’s cancel or change page carries one warning worth knowing: “If you don’t use your slot and don’t cancel, you may not be able to book future visits.”

On the day

Arrive inside your booked time. If you take the last slot of the day, leave enough time to unload before the gates shut at 4.30pm (4pm on Sunday). Staff will help where they can but, under the on-site rules, they cannot lift heavy builders’ bags or HIPPOBAGS, so decant those before you go. If you need help because of age, disability or pregnancy, choose “assistance request” when you book. The site runs CCTV, number plate recognition and body-worn cameras, staff may ask for proof that you live in Kent, and you cannot take away items other people have left.

Height barrier, vans and trailers

The Ashford site has a height barrier of 2 metres (6 foot 6 inches). Some vehicles need a voucher to get in, and Kent’s vehicle restrictions page says it is “moving to digital permits for restricted vehicles in November”. Anyone approved now receives up to six paper vouchers, and paper vouchers will still be accepted “for a while” after the switch.

You cannot carry waste into the site on foot, and children must stay in the car. Before a big run, check Ashford roadworks and travel, and our parking in Ashford page if you are combining the trip with town.

What is free and what you pay for

Household waste is free for Kent council tax payers. DIY waste is free up to a limit, which Kent’s charges page sets as:

• 4 visits in 4 weeks with DIY waste, and
• per visit, 1 large item (up to 200cm by 75cm) or 2 standard black bags of 50 litres each.

Within the limit you can bring rubble, soil, bricks, paving slabs, tiles, plasterboard (one sheet counts as one black bag) and ceramic bathroom items such as baths, sinks and toilet pans. There is no limit on plastic kitchen units, non-ceramic sinks, baths and doors. Tyres, and DIY waste over the limit, are charged, and the council takes payment by debit or credit card only: no cash, no cheques.

Non-Kent residents pay £10 a visit, and that includes people from Medway. Business waste is not accepted.

Fridges and freezers

On 30 July 2026 Kent asked residents to hold on to fridges and freezers for now if they are safe to keep, because “fridge and freezer recycling is currently under pressure across the UK”. The notice is still at the top of its booking page.

The nearest alternatives

Kent runs 19 centres. The nearest to the south of the borough is New Romney, on Mountfield Road, TN28 8LH, with the same hours as Ashford and a reuse shop you can browse without booking (Kent County Council). To the west, Maidstone is at Burial Ground, Tovil, ME15 6RJ, also 8am to 4.30pm and 9am to 4pm on Sunday (Kent County Council). Kent residents can no longer use Medway’s Capstone, Cuxton and Hoath Way sites.

For things too big for the car, Ashford Borough Council runs a paid bulky waste collection; the price and the booking route are on our bin collection days page.

Searching from Ashford in Surrey? That Ashford sits in Spelthorne and is served by Surrey County Council’s community recycling centres, not the Kent site described here.

Christmas and New Year

Kent County Council has not yet published festive hours for 2026. Last Christmas its Christmas and New Year services page (archived 12 December 2025) told residents to “check the opening times for your nearest household waste recycling centre over the festive period”, so the hours go on each centre’s own page rather than in a single list. We will add them here as soon as they appear.

Christmas also moves the bins: Ashford Borough Council’s revised rounds last year ran up to two working days late and did not return to normal until 12 January. The full table is on our bin collection days page. If you are heading anywhere by rail over the holiday, see the Christmas trains page.

Ashford tip: common questions

Can I just turn up at Ashford tip without booking? No. Kent’s page for the site says “entry without booking is not permitted”. You can book for the same day, so a spare slot is often only a few minutes away.

Is Ashford tip open on Sunday? Yes, 9am to 4pm. Monday to Saturday it is 8am to 4.30pm.

What time does Ashford tip close on a bank holiday? 4pm. Kent’s on-site rules say its centres close at 4pm on Sunday and bank holidays.

Can I take a van to Ashford tip? Only with a vehicle voucher, and only if it fits under the 2 metre (6 foot 6 inch) height barrier. Kent is moving restricted vehicles on to digital permits “in November”, its vehicle page says.

What happens if I miss my slot? Cancel through the link in your confirmation email. Kent warns that people who neither use nor cancel a slot may not be able to book future visits.

Is the tip free? Household waste is free for Kent council tax payers. DIY waste is free up to 4 visits in 4 weeks, with set amounts per visit; over that, and for tyres, there is a charge, card only. Non-Kent residents, including Medway, pay £10 a visit.