You can only use household recycling centres to dispose of household waste. This is why we restrict what types of vehicles can use recycling centres.
It is illegal for businesses to dispose of commercial or trade waste at recycling centres without paying. Waste from work carried out by traders on your home is classed as business waste and should not be disposed of at a household recycling centre.
Vehicle restrictions
See our guide to vehicle types and restrictions:
You do not need a permit for:
- cars
- camper vans
- minibuses
- people carriers
- estate cars
- trailers with a bed size up to 1.8m x 1.2m (6ft x 4ft) towed by a vehicle that doesn't need a permit
- hire vans (excluding van types not allowed on site) - maximum 3 day hire and hire agreement must be shown to staff on site
You need a permit for:
- vans up to 3.5t
- single cab pick ups and dual cab pick ups
- car derived vans
You are not allowed on site in:
- vans over 3.5t
- vans towing trailers
- single and dual cab pick ups towing trailers
- any trailer with a bed size over 1.8m x 1.2m (6ft x 4ft)
- Luton box vans
- flatbed vans
- tipper vans
- tractors
- horse boxes
- agricultural vehicles
- hire vans - over 3 day hire
You do not need a permit for a van you have hired, but you can only take it to a recycling centre if:
- the hire agreement is for no more than 3 days
- you show the hire agreement to site staff when you arrive
- it is a vehicle type that is allowed on site
Vans with a hire agreement of more than 3 days are not allowed at household recycling centres.
You can use a trailer towed by a vehicle that does not need a permit, unless the vehicle is a hire van. The maximum trailer bed size we allow is 1.2 metres wide and 1.8 metres long (approx. 6ft x 4ft).
Hire vans and vehicles that need a permit cannot take a trailer into a recycling centre.
If you are a charity and want to use our household recycling centres, email us.
Apply for a permit
Read our terms and conditions before you apply.
You can apply for a free permit for 6 or 12 visits a year. We will let you know how many visits you are eligible for based on the information you provide when you apply.
Please note only residents living in the Dorset Council area can apply for a permit.
The permit starts from the date you apply. As an example, if you apply on 1 April, you will have until 31 March the following year to use your visits. We do not allow additional visits within the year.
You can use your permit at any of our household recycling centres.
Renew or change your permit
You must renew your permit each year. This is to make sure that we have your correct details and you still agree to our terms and conditions of use.
You can change your permit at any time. If you are changing your vehicle details, we will transfer any remaining visits to your new vehicle.
How many visits you have left
We check your vehicle registration against our database when you visit a recycling centre, and record each visit you make.
After each visit, you’ll get an email confirming your visit and telling you how many visits you have left.
Cancelling your permit
You can cancel your permit by emailing us at wasteteam@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk. Please include the following information in your email:
- your name
- your post code
- first line of the address the permit is registered to
- the vehicle registration number that is registered on the permit
- a contact number in case we need to contact you
Please note if you still require a permit but need to change the vehicle and or address please use the renew or change a permit option above.
Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Somerley Recycling Centres
Our vehicle permits can only be used in a Dorset Council recycling centre.
For those Dorset Council residents that are eligible to use BCP Council HRCs at Millhams (Bournemouth), Nuffield (Poole), and Wilverley Road (Christchurch) and Hampshire County Council’s HRC at Somerley, please check the relevant authority’s website for information on their vehicle restrictions: