Can a house clearance company use a household recycling centre?

Not as a substitute for authorised commercial waste routes. Household sites are for householders, with rules that change. Commercial clearance waste should not be presented as a householder’s own rubbish.

Why don’t you list opening hours and prices?

They change. Booking rules, charges and accepted materials are set by Cornwall Council and the site operator. Always check the official pages rather than a copied table on a clearance website.

Which centre should I use?

That depends on where you live, what you are taking and whether the site accepts that stream on the day. Use Cornwall Council’s current locator and rules. This page names the network so you know it exists; it does not replace the council’s instructions.

Guide

Cornwall recycling centres guide

Where Cornwall’s household recycling centres sit, why booking and accepted streams change, and why trade waste is a different system.

Information checked: 21 March 2026

Cornwall Council’s recycling and waste rules, booking requirements, charges and accepted materials change. Treat this page as a map of the subject, not as an operational timetable. Confirm details on the official pages before you travel.

What the HWRC network is for

Cornwall operates a network of household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs). They exist so householders can take their own waste and recyclable materials to a staffed site, subject to the council’s current rules. Those rules have included booking systems, limits, van and trailer policies, and charges for some materials. None of that is stable enough to copy onto this website as if it were permanent.

If you are a householder clearing a cupboard, a shed or a car-load of your own goods, the official centre pages are the right place to start.

If you are hiring a clearance company, or the waste arises from a rental business, a holiday let or another trade activity, do not treat a household site as the disposal plan. Those loads belong on authorised commercial routes. See reuse and recycling and how to check a waste carrier.

Household waste and commercial waste are not the same

The distinction is about who produces the waste and in what context, not about whether the objects look like household objects. A sofa from your own living room, taken by you in your own car, is one situation. The same sofa removed as part of a paid clearance, a landlord refurbishment or a holiday-let furniture change can be another.

Cornwall Council publishes separate information for trade waste. Read it if you run a business, manage lets, or are instructing a contractor. This guide will not pretend that a professional clearance can be finished at a household-only weighbridge.

We do not encourage, and will not describe as normal, the use of household-only facilities for commercial clearance waste.

Centres around the county

Sites have existed in or near the following places. Names, exact locations and whether a site is open to the public on a given day are for the council to confirm.

Bodmin
Bude
Connon Bridge
Falmouth / Penryn
Helston
Launceston
Newquay
Redruth / Pool
Saltash
St Austell
St Day / United Downs
St Erth / Hayle
Tintagel / Bowithick
Truro

Do not assume every site accepts the same materials. Do not assume any of them accept commercial or trade waste. Do not assume you can arrive without a booking if a booking system is in force.

Some sites have historically had different rules for vans, trailers or certain waste streams. Those details belong on the council page that is current on the day you travel.

What householders usually need to check

Before you load a car or hire a small trailer, confirm:

whether a booking is required
whether your vehicle type is allowed
which materials are accepted at that site
which materials are charged for
whether there is a permit or van policy
opening days — they are not the same everywhere

If you cannot take the material yourself, or the volume is beyond a household trip, a house clearance or a skip may be the more honest option.

How this relates to a professional clearance

Cornwall House Clearance removes agreed contents and sends residual material through authorised routes. We do not publish a list of outlets we do not actually use, and we do not describe household recycling centres as our disposal method.

If you want to keep some items and take them to a household site yourself, that can sit alongside a clearance. Keep those items separate and follow the council’s rules for them.

Holiday lets and landlord jobs sit on the property clearance page because the waste context is easy to get wrong.

Keep this page honest

When Cornwall Council changes a booking rule, a charge or a site name, update the “Information checked” date at the top after you have re-read the official pages. Do not invent opening hours to make the page look complete.