Direct answer
Harefield Civic Amenity Site (New Years Green Lane, Harefield, UB9 6LX) is run by Hillingdon Council for residents disposing of their own household waste. It's open every day, 8am to 4pm, with last entry for residents at 3:45pm - don't arrive before 7:45am, as you won't be let in early. Residents visiting by car need a HillingdonFirst card, or a driving licence and a household bill, to use the site free of charge; non-resident cars are charged £11 per visit. Van users need two forms of ID and are capped at 12 visits per calendar year. The site is vehicle access only - there's no way in on foot. It's worth being clear that Harefield is one option among Hillingdon Council's waste and recycling sites, not necessarily the closest one for every postcode in the borough.
Contents
Visit requirements at a glance
What to arrange before you turn up, based on Hillingdon Council's current guidance.
| Visit requirement | Current rule | What the resident must arrange |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility | Site is for Hillingdon residents disposing of household waste, plus registered trade waste carriers on separate terms. | Confirm you're bringing your own household waste, not waste from outside the borough. |
| Residency evidence (car) | HillingdonFirst card required for free entry by car, or a driving licence plus a household bill as an alternative. | Bring the card, or the licence-and-bill combination, every visit. |
| Residency evidence (van) | Two forms of ID required: photo ID plus a household bill dated within the last 3 months, or a passport plus two address documents. | Bring both documents - a HillingdonFirst card alone is not stated as sufficient for a van visit. |
| Opening hours | Open daily, 8am–4pm. Don't arrive before 7:45am. Last entry for residents 3:45pm; weighbridge closes 3:45pm; paying visitors must arrive by 3:35pm. | Plan your visit inside these hours, and earlier in the window if you're paying to dispose of a load. |
| Booking | No advance online booking slot is published for a standard resident visit - it's a turn-up system, though queues can run to around 90 minutes at peak times. | Allow time for a possible queue; the council suggests avoiding 11am–noon and the final 30 minutes, and notes Wednesdays and Thursdays are quieter. |
| Vehicle access | Vehicle access only - the site is not accessible to pedestrians. | Arrange a car, van or lift; waste can't be carried in on foot. |
| Van visit frequency | Capped at a maximum of 12 visits per calendar year (January to December). | Track your own visit count if you use the site by van regularly. |
| Non-resident charge | Cars from outside Hillingdon are charged £11 per visit; non-resident vans are charged full trade prices. | Use the van/trade entrance and weighbridge office if you're a non-resident car visitor. |
These are the published rules at the time of writing - confirm current details directly with Hillingdon Council's Harefield Civic Amenity Site page before you travel.
Address, opening days and hours
Where the site is and when it's open.
The site sits on New Years Green Lane, Harefield, postcode UB9 6LX. Hillingdon Council calls it the Harefield Civic Amenity Site, and it's one of the borough's household waste and recycling sites - not necessarily the nearest one for every Hillingdon postcode, so it's worth checking the council's full list of sites if you're closer to an alternative.
It's open every day of the week, 8am to 4pm, with no published seasonal variation in hours. Don't arrive before 7:45am, since entry isn't given earlier. Last entry for residents is 3:45pm, and the weighbridge also closes at 3:45pm - anyone paying for disposal, such as a non-resident car visitor or a DIY/trade load, needs to arrive by 3:35pm to be weighed in time. The site is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Because council-run sites can adjust hours, check the current opening hours on Hillingdon Council's website before setting off, particularly around bank holidays.
Access to the site is via Harvil Road. The council asks visitors not to turn right into New Years Green Lane from Harvil Road, and instead to join the queue coming down from Harefield, to help manage congestion on the approach road.
HillingdonFirst card and resident access
Free for residents with the right evidence - not an open walk-in site.
Hillingdon residents visiting by car need a HillingdonFirst card to be let in free of charge, or a driving licence together with a household bill as an alternative form of residency evidence. Staff check this as vehicles queue to use the site, so it's worth having the card or documents ready rather than searching for them at the gate. The site is open to Hillingdon residents and registered trade waste carriers - it isn't a general public tip open to anyone regardless of where they live.
Non-resident cars can still use the site, but at a charge of £11 per visit, and they're directed to use the van/trade entrance and approach the weighbridge office rather than the standard resident queue. Non-resident vans are charged full trade prices rather than the £11 car rate. Recycling itself - rather than general waste disposal - is not charged, regardless of residency.
Vans, ID and the 12-visit cap
A different ID requirement, and a hard annual limit.
Van visitors need two forms of identification: a photo ID plus a household bill dated within the last three months, or - if you don't have a driving licence - a passport together with two address documents. This is a stricter requirement than the car rule, where a HillingdonFirst card alone is enough.
Van (and trailer) visits are capped at a maximum of 12 per calendar year, January to December, tracked against the resident's own details rather than being unlimited. If you're clearing a whole property rather than making occasional tip runs, it's worth weighing that cap against the number of loads the job would actually take, since exceeding it isn't something you can simply pay your way around at the resident rate. Because vehicle and ID rules are the sort of detail councils review periodically, confirm your current visit count and the exact ID requirement directly with Hillingdon Council before you load up and drive over.
If you're clearing a whole property rather than making a single van run, a self-service visit here isn't really a substitute for a proper house clearance in Hillingdon carried out by a licensed carrier - the carrier arranges their own collection and disposal, so you wouldn't need to use your own van allowance for that job. For bulkier individual items rather than a full clearance, see our guide to rubbish removal and waste collection in London for how a collection-based service compares to a tip run.
Disposal permission vs a collection service
Two genuinely different things, easy to conflate.
It's worth being precise about what Harefield actually is, because the two options get mixed up fairly often. Harefield is a disposal permission site: it's vehicle-access-only, self-service, and you load your own car or van with your own waste, drive it to the site, show your HillingdonFirst card or ID, and unload it yourself. Nobody comes to you, and there's no route in on foot - the entire visit is something the resident arranges and carries out in person.
A collection service, by contrast, is where someone else comes to your home to take items away - whether that's a council bulky waste collection for larger household items, or a private licensed carrier collecting as part of a paid clearance. A collection service generally means no driving, no HillingdonFirst card, and no visit cap to track - but it typically comes with its own separate booking process and charge. For responsible disposal more broadly, both routes end up at a recycling or reuse facility - the difference is purely in who does the physical moving and which access rules apply.
What's accepted - and what's refused
A broad household list, one firm exclusion, and a limited free asbestos service.
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Accepted | Furniture and wood, mattresses and sofas, electrical appliances, televisions and computer screens, car batteries and engine oil, scrap metal, rubble and stone, garden waste, carpets, textiles, household and lithium-ion batteries, household paints, fluorescent tubes and low-energy bulbs, ink cartridges, glass bottles and jars, metal cans, cardboard and paper, books, vapes and vegetable oil. |
| Asbestos | Accepted via a free collection service, limited to up to 6 sheets or bags per household in any 12-month period. |
| Refused | Gas cylinders are not accepted, including fire extinguishers, beer barrels and oxygen tanks. Helium canisters are accepted only if handed directly to staff rather than left with other waste. |
| Chargeable in bulk | DIY and building waste can incur a charge when brought in large quantities - check current thresholds on Hillingdon Council's DIY and building waste page before a large load. |
This list reflects Hillingdon Council's published categories at the time of writing. Specific rules for individual items - particularly anything borderline such as large quantities of plasterboard, chemicals without hazard labelling, or commercial-origin waste - are worth checking directly on Hillingdon Council's accepted items page before you load the vehicle, since category rules are reviewed from time to time.
Clearing more than a van load?
For a full house, flat or room clearance, post the job and compare quotes from licensed carriers instead of making repeat tip runs.
Request clearance quotesFrequently asked questions
Tied to the verified facts above - confirm anything time-sensitive directly with Hillingdon Council.
Where is Harefield recycling centre and who can use it free of charge?
The site is Harefield Civic Amenity Site, New Years Green Lane, Harefield, UB9 6LX, run by Hillingdon Council. It's free for Hillingdon residents who bring a HillingdonFirst card (if arriving by car) or a driving licence and a household bill - non-resident cars are charged £11 per visit, and the site is also open to registered trade waste carriers on separate terms. This page covers the Harefield site specifically - Hillingdon residents in some parts of the borough may find another recycling centre more convenient, so don't assume this is automatically the nearest option.
What are the opening hours?
The site is open every day, 8am to 4pm, with no published seasonal variation. Don't arrive before 7:45am, as entry isn't given earlier. Last entry for residents is 3:45pm, the weighbridge closes at 3:45pm, and anyone paying for disposal (such as non-residents or DIY/trade loads) needs to arrive by 3:35pm. It's closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Always check Hillingdon Council's current page before travelling, since hours can change.
Do I need a HillingdonFirst card, and do I need to book a slot?
If you're arriving by car, yes - residents need a HillingdonFirst card, or a driving licence plus a household bill, to be let in free of charge. No advance online booking slot is published for a standard resident visit; it's a turn-up-during-opening-hours system, though queues can run to around 90 minutes at busy times. Confirm the current entry process directly with Hillingdon Council before you travel, since this is exactly the kind of operational detail that can change.
Can I bring a van, and is there a visit limit?
Yes, but van visitors need two forms of ID - a photo ID plus a household bill dated within the last three months (or a passport and two address documents if you don't have a driving licence) - and visits are capped at a maximum of 12 per calendar year, January to December. Confirm your remaining allowance and the current ID requirement with Hillingdon Council if you're a frequent van user, since the cap is tracked against your details rather than being unlimited.
Can I walk in with waste, or does it have to be a vehicle?
No - this site is vehicle access only and is not accessible to pedestrians. If you don't have a car or van, you'd need to arrange a lift, a hired vehicle, or a collection service instead of trying to carry items in on foot.
What's accepted and what's refused at Harefield?
The site accepts a wide range of household materials including furniture, mattresses, sofas, electrical appliances, scrap metal, rubble, garden waste, batteries, paint, car oil and textiles, plus a free asbestos collection service for up to 6 sheets or bags per household in any 12-month period. It does not accept gas cylinders - including fire extinguishers, beer barrels and oxygen tanks - though helium canisters are accepted if handed directly to staff. Confirm any item you're unsure about on Hillingdon Council's current accepted-items page before you load the vehicle.
