Guildford Recycling Centre

Items Accepted for Free 

These are the items that the Guildford recycling centre accepts free of charge:

• Aerosols
• Black bag waste
• Bottle tops
• Cans (mixed)
• Car batteries
• Cardboard (mixed)
• Carpet
• CDs, Books and DVDs
• Cooking oil
• Engine oil
• Fluorescent tubes
• Foil
• Furniture
• Garden waste
• Gas bottles
• Glass bottles and jars
• Hard plastics
• Household batteries
• Household/Garden chemicals – need to go in Hazardous Waste containers (ask a member of staff)
• Large electrical items (e.g. fridges and freezers)
• Mattresses
• Metal (Ferrous/Non-ferrous)
• Mobile phones
• Small electrical items
• Paint (water-based/emulsion) - see below about the Guildford site paint reuse station
• Paper and card (mixed)
• Plastic bottles (mixed)
• Printer cartridges
• Spectacles
• Tetra Pak carton banks
• Textile banks
• TVs and Monitors
• Water filters
• Wood/Timber

Items accepted at a charge

You will be charged to dispose of the following items depending on weight and amount:

• Tyres
• Gypsum based products/plasterboard
• Rubble (bricks, rocks, stones, cement, concrete and hard core)
• Construction wood: fitted kitchens and wardrobes, outdoor wood such as fence panels/posts, sheds
• Garden stone and paving, concrete posts, concrete panels and concrete sheds
• Tiles, ceramics (includes sinks, toilets and shower trays)
• Earth, soils including turfs

Stuff like this is considered commercial or construction waste, which is why it isn't free to get rid of. Remember that even if you are a resident or individual (i.e. not a business) and you bring the above items to the Guildford recycling centre in a van, pickup or trailer, you'll still need the valid permit (see above). You must also bag this rubbish as the centre doesn't accept loose loads.

Confusingly, there are some items of construction waste that the centre does NOT charge for. It is only free to dispose of as long as it is from your own home and it is brought in your car (i.e. NOT in a van, pickup or trailer).

Non-chargeable construction waste includes:

• Baths
• Fitted kitchen cupboards and work surfaces
• Timber; including fence panels, posts, garden sheds, flooring and other timber used in DIY projects
• Internal and external doors
• Windows
• Radiators
• Fitted units
• Rigid plastic sheeting or roofing felt
• Insulation
• Flooring (excluding ceramic or stone - see chargeable construction waste above)

This waste must be:

• from your own home
• brought in your car

Prohibited Items

• Petrol/ diesel
• Business/ trade waste

Note: business and trade waste goes to the Waste Transfer Station, also on site and run by Suez. This waste is weighed and charged before disposal.

Commercial/ Trade Waste

You can dispose of trade waste at the Waste Transfer Station. This is located within Guildford recycling centre and operates on slightly different opening hours:

Monday - Friday 08:00 - 16:00

Saturday - Sunday 09:00 - 16:00

The Waste Transfer Station is open on bank holidays but closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. 

Other useful information

If you let them know on arrival, Guildford site staff offer assistance for elderly, disabled or infirm customers. Staff will also monitor all disposals. Make sure you don't bring a massive amount of waste at once or make too many journeys in a short period of time. Staff might redirect you to the Waste Transfer Station where your waste will be weighed and charged. 

Masks are required unless customers are medically exempt. 

For any specific questions, you can contact the waste and recycling team on Guildford council:

Main telephone line: 01908 252570

Secondary telephone line (SUEZ Surrey): 020 8329 1030

Reuse options

Guildford recycling centre has a reuse paint shop on site where you can donate full or mostly full tins of usable, water-based paint. For those taking paint from the shop, the site suggests a donation to Macmillan Cancer Support in exchange. 

If you have large or bulky items that still have a lease of life in them, find out how you can reuse them in Guildford with our handy guide. Alternatively, see our Rubbish Removal Guildford guide. 

Google reviews of Guildford recycling centre

The centre was rated only 3.7 stars when this post was created. The main criticism being the length of queues.