Townmead Road Recycling Centre, Richmond: Hours, Booking & Van Rules

Direct answer

Townmead Road Reuse and Recycling Centre is Richmond upon Thames's main household recycling site, at Townmead Road (off Mortlake Road), Kew, TW9 4EL. It's run by the West London Waste Authority (WLWA) on behalf of the council, alongside sister sites in Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow - residents of any of those six boroughs can use it. Richmond Council's own page for this site is explicit that you must book a slot before you travel: "residents arriving without a booking will not be allowed entry." You can book up to 14 days ahead, subject to availability. Opening hours for residents are Monday to Saturday 8am–4pm and Sunday/bank holidays 9am–4pm, with shorter hours for trade visitors. Only cars, motorcycles, bicycles and small vans with a limited load space are permitted - pedestrians cannot use the site at all. Because booking rules, hours and fees are set by the council and WLWA jointly rather than by houseclearance.co, confirm the live details on the official Townmead Road recycling centre page before you travel.

Contents

• Address, operator and who can use the site
• Opening hours and bank holidays
• Booking a slot - why it's compulsory
• Vehicles, vans and the size limit
• What's accepted, what's charged, and what's refused
• Visit requirements at a glance
• When a tip run isn't the right tool
• Frequently asked questions

Address, operator and who can use the site

One site, shared across six boroughs - confirm the right authority before you rely on its rules.

Townmead Road Reuse and Recycling Centre sits off Mortlake Road in Kew, postcode TW9 4EL. It's the site most Richmond upon Thames residents mean when they talk about "the tip" or "the dump," and it's the only household reuse and recycling centre the borough operates. Day to day, it's run by the West London Waste Authority (WLWA), a statutory waste disposal authority that also runs the equivalent sites for Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow - it is not run by Wandsworth, Lambeth or any riverside borough, so don't assume a different authority's rules apply here.

Because WLWA covers six boroughs, residents of any of them - Richmond upon Thames, Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon or Hounslow - are entitled to use Townmead Road, just as a Richmond resident could instead use Abbey Road in Brent or Space Waye in Hounslow. Richmond Council's page states that proof of residence is only requested if you arrive in a van or bring DIY waste - a recent photo ID plus a utility or Council Tax bill (shown on a smartphone is accepted) is enough. Each WLWA site has its own address, hours and sometimes slightly different vehicle and fee rules, so this guide covers only what's currently published for Townmead Road itself.

Opening hours and bank holidays

Residents and trade visitors are on different hours - check which applies to you.

As of this review, Richmond Council's page for Townmead Road lists resident opening hours of Monday to Saturday, 8am to 4pm, and Sundays and bank holidays, 9am to 4pm. Trade visitors have shorter hours - Monday to Friday, 8am to 3.30pm - and the site is closed to trade visitors altogether at weekends and on bank holidays. The whole site, for residents and traders alike, is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

The council also notes an on-site time limit once you've arrived: cars must leave no later than 15 minutes after their booked slot ends, regardless of what time they actually arrived, and vans get 30 minutes to unload. Since hours and these time limits are set by the council and can be revised, confirm the current position on the official Townmead Road recycling centre page before you travel, particularly around a bank holiday weekend.

Booking a slot - why it's compulsory

Not advisory, not a trial - turning up without a booking means being turned away.

Some neighbouring WLWA sites treat booking as advisable rather than compulsory, or have run time-limited trials removing it on certain days. Townmead Road is stricter: Richmond Council's own wording is that residents arriving without a booking "will not be allowed entry." You can book a slot online up to 14 days in advance, subject to availability, and the booking confirmation email contains the links you'll need to change or cancel if your plans shift - the council asks that you cancel a slot you no longer need rather than simply not turning up.

Businesses and tradespeople are treated differently: they don't need to book a slot, but must hold a valid waste carrier's licence and be prepared to show it to staff before disposing of waste. If you can't provide that certificate, the council's guidance is that you may be turned away and refused entry.

Vehicles, vans and the size limit

A specific load-space measurement, not just a "cars and small vans" description.

Visits to Townmead Road are limited to cars, motorcycles, bicycles (including trailers and cargo bikes) and small vans only - pedestrians are not permitted on site under any circumstances. For a van to qualify as "small," the council's published limit is a load space no bigger than 1.7 x 1.5 x 1.2 metres (length x width x height). That's a specific, checkable figure worth measuring against before you book, because the consequence of getting it wrong is strict: if you book a slot for a small van and arrive in a larger one, you will not be permitted on site, and the council notes this applies regardless of what time you arrive.

If you're clearing a property in Richmond upon Thames with a licensed carrier rather than doing the trip yourself, the carrier arranges their own waste transfer and disposal separately - you wouldn't normally need to book a resident slot here for that job.

What's accepted, what's charged, and what's refused

Most household waste is free - construction and demolition waste has conditions attached.

A wide range of household materials can be recycled or disposed of at Townmead Road, and the council asks visitors to separate items before arriving so they go straight into the correct container rather than being sorted on site. There's also a reuse drop-off area (in zone 1) where residents can donate certain items still in good condition - laptops, furniture, baby items and bicycles are given as examples - for redistribution by local community groups; it's a drop-off only, so visitors can't search through or take items themselves.

Most residential waste disposal is free. Charges apply to construction and demolition waste, including preparatory-works waste, unless it meets all of the council's conditions for free disposal: the waste was produced at a domestic property by its occupiers, no payment was made for the work that generated it, the quantity in a single visit is under 100 litres (fitting into two 50-litre bags) or is a single item no larger than 2000mm x 750mm x 700mm, and the household hasn't exceeded four such visits in any four-week period. The council notes that a possible future law change could make DIY waste disposal free more broadly, but says its existing charging policy remains in place until that change is confirmed - so don't assume the free allowance has already widened. Trade waste charges depend on waste type and weight and are VAT-exempt.

Two items are refused outright, regardless of vehicle or booking: tyres and any type of asbestos. The council's stated reason is to protect safety and on-site storage. If you need to dispose of either, check the council's site for alternative routes rather than bringing them to Townmead Road, where they'll be turned away.

Visit requirements at a glance

What to arrange before you set off, based on Richmond Council's current published rules for this site.

Rules, hours and fees are set and published by Richmond upon Thames Council and the West London Waste Authority, not by houseclearance.co - always check the official Townmead Road recycling centre page before a visit.

When a tip run isn't the right tool

Townmead Road is built for a car-boot or small-van load, not a whole property.

Townmead Road works well for a single bulky item, a reuse donation, or a DIY load that fits the council's free-disposal conditions. It's a different job entirely if you're clearing a whole house or flat in Richmond, Kew, Twickenham or Barnes - multiple rooms of furniture, white goods and years of accumulated belongings don't fit within a 1.7 x 1.5 x 1.2 metre small-van load space, and the compulsory booking system makes repeat trips even less practical than at a walk-up site. Moving large furniture safely also usually needs two people and the right vehicle, which is a separate consideration from the tip's own rules.

For a whole-property job, a licensed clearance carrier collecting directly from the property is usually more practical than multiple booked slots at the tip - see our guide to responsible disposal for how reputable clearance carriers sort items for reuse, recycling and disposal, and our house clearance in Richmond upon Thames page if you'd rather post the job than make the trip yourself.