Harrogate, West Harrogate and Ripon tips open 8.30am to 4pm from October, close every Wednesday, and turn away unregistered cars. Christmas closures, charges.

The Harrogate district’s three tips, on Wetherby Road, Penny Pot Lane and at Ripon, open 8.30am to 4pm every day except Wednesday from October to March, and 8.30am to 5pm from April to September. You must register your car online before you go: since 27 April 2026 the sites turn away vehicles that are not registered.

The quick answer

  • Winter hours from 1 October: 8.30am to 4pm, closed every Wednesday. Summer hours (April to September) run to 5pm.
  • Closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day at all three sites.
  • Register first: it is free, covers up to two household vehicles for three years, and without it you will not get in.

The three sites

All three are run for North Yorkshire Council by its contractor Yorwaste, and all three publish the same hours on their council pages.

Site Address October to March April to September Closed
Harrogate Wetherby Road, HG3 1DE 8.30am to 4pm 8.30am to 5pm Wednesdays, 25 and 26 Dec, 1 Jan
West Harrogate Penny Pot Lane, HG3 2SN 8.30am to 4pm 8.30am to 5pm Wednesdays, 25 and 26 Dec, 1 Jan
Ripon Dallamires Crescent, Dallamires Lane, HG4 1TT 8.30am to 4pm 8.30am to 5pm Wednesdays, 25 and 26 Dec, 1 Jan

The council asks you to arrive with enough time to unload before closing. The Wetherby Road site takes no commercial waste at all. All three sell Yorganics peat-free compost, made from North Yorkshire garden waste, at £5.00 per 40 litre bag.

Knaresborough, Boroughbridge and Pateley Bridge

There is no permanent tip in Knaresborough; the nearest are the two Harrogate sites. For Boroughbridge and Nidderdale the council sends a mobile recycling centre on these Saturdays:

Where Remaining 2026 dates Early 2027 dates
Boroughbridge, Back Lane car park, YO51 9AN 10 October, 7 November, 12 December (9am to 1pm) 13 February, 13 March
Pateley Bridge, Bewerley Park, HG3 5BD 3 October, 31 October, 5 December (9am to 1pm) 6 February, 6 March

The mobile centres take furniture, mattresses, fridges, electricals, glass, cans, paper, textiles, wood and scrap metal. Garden waste is accepted only at Pateley Bridge. Tyres, rubble, plasterboard and asbestos are not taken at any mobile centre.

Christmas and New Year

All three permanent sites close on Friday 25 December, Saturday 26 December and Friday 1 January, as well as the usual Wednesdays (23 and 30 December). They are open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and on Sunday 27 December, from 8.30am to 4pm. The council’s pages do not mention the substitute bank holiday on Monday 28 December, so check before a visit that day.

Real Christmas trees go in the garden waste skip at any of the three. Our Christmas bin collections page has the rest of the festive waste arrangements, including what happens to the Friday collections.

Registering your vehicle

Registration is free and open to anyone who pays council tax to North Yorkshire Council.

  • Cars, estates, people carriers, 4x4s without a cargo area, motorbikes and cars towing a trailer under 1.5 metres: household registration, up to two vehicles per household, valid for three years, no set limit on visits.
  • Vans, pick-ups, 4x4s with a cargo area, campervans and cars towing a trailer over 1.5 metres: a separate commercial-like registration, 12 visits in 12 months, renewed each year. Old van permits do not carry over.
  • Helping a relative or clearing a house after a bereavement: a four-week temporary registration allows four visits. A hire car registration lasts seven days, also with four visits.

What costs money

Household rubbish, recycling and garden waste are free. DIY waste is free in limited amounts, according to the council’s charges page:

  • Once a week you can bring one item up to 2,000mm by 750mm by 700mm, or under 100 litres, about two 50-litre bags. That covers rubble, bricks, plasterboard, soil, tiles, a bath or a toilet. You can do this up to four times in four weeks.
  • Beyond that you pay by card: £3.80 per standard bag of hardcore or rubble, £3.70 per bag of plasterboard.
  • Car, motorbike and 4x4 tyres cost £3.50 each, on or off the rim. Bicycle, pram and wheelbarrow tyres are free.

You have to fill in a DIY declaration form with site staff first.

Still to be confirmed

  • Whether the tips open on Monday 28 December, the substitute bank holiday.
  • Mobile recycling centre dates after March 2027.

More: Harrogate bin collection days, Christmas bin collections, parking in Harrogate and roadworks and travel.