Recycling Centres are provided for residents to dispose of their household waste only.  Business waste is not accepted.

Residents Permit

From April 2017  - To use a Recycling Centre within Bath and North East Somerset you no longer need have an approved electronic permit.

Instead, you will simply need to show proof of residency. Please bring a form of identification that shows your name and address to prove you are a Bath and North East Somerset resident, e.g. your driving licence, Discovery card, or a recent utility bill. Please bring identification every time you visit to show if requested. Unfortunately, our staff will have to turn you away if you cannot show identification when asked.

Van Permit 

Residents of Bath and North East Somerset can only use a van or trailer to dipose of their own household waste when they have an approved Van Permit.  We will monitor this, and if you attempt to dispose of business waste, we will cancel your permit. Without a permit you will be refused entry to the sites.

This system is in place at all 3 of our Recycling Centres.

There are limits to the amount of household waste that vehicles can take into a site - our DIY waste and home improvement page gives more details.

The site attendants may refuse entry if you do not have a permit.

You need to apply for a free Van Permit if you wish to bring a van, small lorry or trailer over 1.8m - 2.4m long or certain other vehicles to our Recycling Centres. 

Large trailers over 2.4m are not permitted at any time. If you are unsure if you need a Van Permit for your vehicle please check the table below.  A Van Permit allows you 12 visits to our Recycling Centres, and then you need to renew your permit.

Vans, trailers and other vehicles (that require a permit) are only allowed to use the recycling centres (Bath, Keynsham and Midsomer Norton) on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Van Permit - Renewal Only

Van Permits that have used up their 12 visits will be provided with a PIN number and asked to renew through the above link

Short Term Permit

If you are a resident borrowing a vehicle you need to apply for a short term permit. When applying, state you do not own the vehicle and we will issue you with a five day short term permit.

Hire vehicles do not need to have a permit, but you must be able to provide evidence of residency and the hire agreement, and have the same restrictions with regards to what residents are able to dispose of. Please note that hire vehicles cannot exceed 3.4 tonnes.

We aim to process any applications that do not need more information within 2 working days.

Change in circumstances

If you move house or change vehicle, please let us know via vanpermits@bathnes.gov.uk.  It is important that you do this because other permit holders' visits could be recorded against your permit, and your future renewals could be rejected.

Monitoring the system

We do monitor the usage of the sites and carry out spot checks, so you may be approached by our staff and asked about the type of waste you are bringing to the site to make sure it is not business waste.  Information will be recorded and further action may well be taken if staff suspect that the waste is not your own household waste.

The Van Permit scheme has been introduced to make sure that only Bath and North East Somerset residents use the Recycling Centres and to stop business and commercial waste from being disposed of illegally at the household centres.