Amersham Recycling Centre is the main household waste site for much of the Chilterns — it is the natural tip for Amersham on the Hill, Old Amersham, Little Chalfont, Chesham Bois, Coleshill, Chalfont St Giles, Great Missenden and Prestwood, and it is one of the few sites in the county that takes almost everything.
It also has more rules than most people realise. There is no booking system, which is a genuine advantage over neighbouring counties — Oxfordshire, for instance, makes you reserve a slot. But there is a vehicle permit requirement that turns vans away at the gate, a free DIY waste allowance that most residents never claim, and a set of seasonal opening hours that half the tip-listing websites get wrong.
Here is exactly how the site works in 2026, what it will and will not take, and the point at which a collection makes more sense than two round trips. Opening days, permit rules and charges are reviewed by the council (charges on 1 April each year), so confirm the current details on buckinghamshire.gov.uk before you load the car.
Where is Amersham Recycling Centre?
The site is on London Road East, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, HP7 9DT — on the A413 corridor between Old Amersham and Little Chalfont, which is why it draws traffic from a wide stretch of the Misbourne valley.
It has 6 spaces for vehicles to unload. That is a modest number for a site serving this catchment, and it is the reason the queue backs up on weekend afternoons rather than anything to do with staffing. If you are coming from Chalfont St Giles or Chalfont St Peter, it is worth knowing that Beaconsfield has nearly twice the unloading capacity at 11 bays.
There is no pedestrian access without a permit. If you want to walk in with a couple of bags you need a walk-in permit first — you cannot simply turn up on foot.
What are the opening times?
Buckinghamshire runs two sets of hours, and this is the single most common reason for a wasted trip. Summer, 1 April to 30 September: 9am to 6pm. Winter, 1 October to 31 March: 9am to 4pm. A lot of the tip-listing sites publish a flat "9am–6pm" all year round, which means they are wrong for six months of the year. Every site is open on bank holidays except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
| Period | Days | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Summer (1 Apr – 30 Sep) | Monday to Sunday | 9am – 6pm |
| Winter (1 Oct – 31 Mar) | Monday to Sunday | 9am – 4pm |
Amersham is a full seven-day site. That matters locally, because Chesham and Burnham — the two nearest alternatives for much of this catchment — are closed every Wednesday and Thursday. If it is midweek, Amersham is very often the only option that is actually open.
The quiet times, and the last-entry trap
The council reports the site is busiest at weekends, especially Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and quietest on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. During busy periods last entry can be brought forward before the published closing time, so that everyone already on site can unload and leave — turning up at ten to six on a summer Saturday is a gamble. There are live webcams at the site entrance so you can check the queue before you set off.
Do I need a permit for Amersham tip?
For a normal car, no — you just need proof you live in Buckinghamshire, such as a driving licence or a Council Tax bill. There is no booking system.
You do need a free permit in four situations, and they stack — if two apply, you need both permits and must show both at the gate:
- Vehicle permit — if you arrive in a van, pick-up, truck or minibus, or towing a trailer larger than 0.9m × 1.2m. Valid 31 days, renewable up to 90 days.
- DIY waste permit — for construction and renovation waste. Valid for one visit within 7 days; once the 7 days are up you can apply again.
- Walk-in permit — to enter on foot. Valid 31 days, renewable up to 90.
- Asbestos permit — valid 12 months with a maximum of 3 visits.
The account change that catches people out
Permits are issued as a QR code by email and you need a My Buckinghamshire customer account to apply. If you last used the waste permit service before 16 September 2025 and have not created an account since, your old login will not work — you have to register again before you can apply. Do that a few days before you plan to go, not on the day. If you have no internet access you can apply by phone on 0300 131 6000, Monday to Thursday 9am to 5:30pm and Friday 9am to 5pm.
The e-permit service is not available to traders. Businesses have to use the council’s chargeable Trade Waste Service instead — more on that below.
Which vehicles are banned from site?
A permit is not a free pass. Some vehicles are refused entry outright, whatever paperwork you are holding. You cannot bring:
- Vehicles with more than 4 wheels
- Vehicles over 7.5 tonnes
- Trailers larger than 2.4m long × 1.8m wide, up to 60cm high with a cover, excluding the tow bar
- Vehicles with tippers or tail lifts
- Tractors or horseboxes
If your vehicle does not meet these rules, staff will turn you away — and that is a wasted trip with a full load still in the back. The tipper and tail-lift exclusion catches out a lot of people who have borrowed a work vehicle for the weekend, and the trailer dimensions are stricter than most garden trailers you would hire.
This is the point at which a lot of Amersham households give up on the DIY approach. If you are clearing a garage, a loft or a garden and the only vehicle you can get hold of is a tipper or a 3.5-tonne Luton, the tip is closed to you regardless of how much you are willing to queue.
What does DIY waste cost at Amersham?
This is where Buckinghamshire differs sharply from most councils, and where the money is. Household waste is free. DIY waste is not household waste — it is anything generated by work on your home or garden, and it has its own permit and its own price list.
With a valid DIY permit you get a limited free allowance. Go over that allowance, or turn up without a permit, and you pay per item:
| Price band | Examples |
|---|---|
| £4.20 | Bricks, rubble, concrete, soil, roof tiles, stones or sand (per 25-litre bag) · paving slab (1m × 1m) · turf per roll · fence panel or post · floorboards or laminate · decking · shed panel · internal door · skirting and door frames · loft insulation · roofing felt · guttering up to 10m · radiator · artificial grass · chimney pot · sheet glass · bathroom sink, bath panel, towel rail or tiles |
| £8.30 | Bath and panel · fitted bathroom cabinets · bathroom sink and pedestal · bidet · toilet cistern · toilet pan · kitchen unit · empty oil tank |
| £12.50 | Kitchen worktop (equivalent to a door, 2m × 1m) |
| £16.60 | Window · external door · greenhouse panel · shower screen, door or tray · toilet pan, cistern and seat · fireplace · storage heater · wood burner or stove · empty water tank |
| £25.20 | Whole shed (max 2m × 2m, equivalent to 7 panels) |
| £29.40 | Boiler |
| £5.80 per m² | Bonded asbestos (permit required) |
Fees for DIY items not on the list are decided by staff on site from the current price list, and the decision of site staff is final. Plasterboard has its own restrictions and must have tiles, wood and other materials removed first — and not every site accepts it.
Do the arithmetic before you drive
A modest bathroom rip-out — shower tray, screen, toilet pan and cistern, sink and pedestal, a few bags of tiles — lands around £60 to £70 in DIY charges once your free allowance is used, before you have counted the fuel, the trailer hire or the two trips it will take in a car. A single man-and-van collection from £95 takes the lot in one go, does the carrying, and does not care whether it rains. That is the honest comparison, and on small loads the tip still wins.
What can you take to Amersham Recycling Centre?
Amersham is one of the county’s full-service sites. Alongside the usual household recycling — garden waste, cardboard, wood, metal, electricals, glass, plastics, paper, batteries, mattresses and furniture — it takes two things many Bucks sites do not.
Asbestos. Only six sites in Buckinghamshire are licensed for it: Amersham, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, High Wycombe and Langley. Chesham, Burnham, Buckingham and Bledlow Ridge do not take it. Only bonded asbestos is accepted, all wood, glass, plastic and metal must be removed first, and it must be double wrapped in 1000-gauge polythene and taped in line with HSE guidance. Keep it damp, and do not cut, break, saw or rub it. It costs £5.80 per square metre and needs its own permit.
Trade and charity waste. Only five sites can take it — Amersham, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield and High Wycombe — because only those have the necessary legal compliances. You can pay to bring business or charity waste Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, with a 7.5-tonne vehicle limit.
A live exception worth checking
As at August 2026 the council states Amersham is experiencing unforeseen issues and cannot accept certain trade waste materials — specifically bulky and upholstered furniture — and is directing that trade waste to Beaconsfield instead. This only affects trade waste in those categories, not household waste. It is a temporary notice, so check the council page before making the trip with a trade load.
There are also annual caps on hazardous household waste, set to reflect normal domestic use: 4 fluorescent tubes, 2 car batteries, 10 litres of engine oil, 5 litres of chemicals and 2 LPG cylinders.
What Amersham will not accept
Regardless of permits, the following are refused at every Buckinghamshire recycling centre:
- Dead animals, carcasses and faeces
- Large quantities of animal bedding (1 to 2 bags a week from small domestic pets, double bagged)
- Materials presenting a direct contact risk
- Tree trunks and branches thicker than 20cm or longer than 2m
- Flammables and explosives, such as fireworks or ammunition
- Storage heaters containing asbestos — anything pre-1980, or models with SR at the end of the model number
The 20cm and 2m limit on tree trunks and branches is the one that catches gardeners out most often, particularly after storm damage or a conifer removal in the larger Amersham and Little Chalfont gardens. A mature leylandii or a felled fruit tree will not go in, whatever you do to it with a bow saw.
The storage heater rule is worth reading twice: anything pre-1980, or any model with SR at the end of the model number, may contain asbestos and is refused as ordinary waste. That is a specialist job, not a tip run.
What if you do not live in Buckinghamshire?
You can still use the site, but you pay an access fee per visit, and the numbers are steep. This matters on the county boundary — plenty of Rickmansworth, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire and Hillingdon households assume Amersham or Beaconsfield is simply their nearest tip.
| Vehicle | Garden waste | Mixed recycling | General waste |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small car (Fiesta, Corsa) | £28.80 | £33.40 | £37.40 |
| Medium car (Kuga, Sportage) | £65.60 | £75.50 | £99.20 |
| Large car, SUV or small van | £124.80 | £145.10 | £236.40 |
| Large van (Transit, Sprinter) | £187.10 | £217.70 | £472.70 |
All prices include VAT, DIY charges are on top of these fees, and cash is not accepted. Note the bottom-right figure: a large van full of general waste is £472.70 for a non-resident. Slough residents are the one exception — they do not pay the non-resident access fee.
If you live just over the border, a collection is almost always the cheaper option before you have even factored in the drive.
When a collection beats the trip
The tip is free for genuine household waste and it is very hard to beat on price for a boot-load. There are four situations where it stops being the sensible answer, and they are all common in this part of Buckinghamshire.
- You have no suitable vehicle. No car, or only a car, and a sofa to move. Tippers, tail lifts and oversized trailers are banned outright.
- It is DIY waste in volume. Once past the free allowance, a bathroom or kitchen strip-out runs into real money at £4.20 to £29.40 an item — and takes several trips.
- It is Wednesday or Thursday and you are closer to Chesham or Burnham. Both are shut. Amersham is open, but it may be a long way round.
- You cannot do the lifting. There is no help loading at the tip, and the council’s own bulky collection will not enter your property or handle steps either.
That last point is the real gap in the county’s provision. Buckinghamshire’s bulky waste collection charges £65 for 1–3 items, £130 for 4–6 and £195 for 7–9, with a maximum of nine items — and everything has to be at your boundary by 6am, because the crew will not come inside, into an outbuilding, or up and down steps. A single mattress still costs the full £65 band.
A man-and-van collection from £95 covers Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont St Peter, Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield, takes the DIY waste the council refuses, and does the carrying from wherever the item actually is — the loft, the garage, the bottom of the garden.
Amersham Recycling Centre FAQs
Do I need to book a slot at Amersham tip?
No. Buckinghamshire does not operate a booking system at any of its recycling centres, including Amersham — you can turn up during opening hours in a normal car. You do need proof of a Buckinghamshire address, and a permit if you are in a van, on foot, bringing DIY waste or bringing asbestos.
What time does Amersham tip close?
6pm from 1 April to 30 September, and 4pm from 1 October to 31 March. Last entry may be brought forward during busy periods so that vehicles already on site can unload and leave before closing.
Is Amersham tip open on Wednesdays?
Yes. Amersham is open seven days a week. It is Chesham, Burnham, Bledlow Ridge and Aylesbury (Rabans Lane) that close on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Do I need a permit to take a van to Amersham tip?
Yes. Vans, trucks and minibuses need a free vehicle waste permit, valid for 31 days and renewable up to 90 days. It arrives as a QR code by email and needs a My Buckinghamshire account. If you are also bringing DIY waste you need a second permit and must show both.
Does Amersham take asbestos?
Yes, with an asbestos permit and a charge of £5.80 per square metre. Bonded asbestos only, double wrapped in 1000-gauge polythene. Amersham is one of only six Buckinghamshire sites licensed for it — Chesham and Burnham are not.
Can I take rubble and soil to Amersham?
Yes, but it counts as DIY waste rather than household waste. You get a limited free allowance with a DIY permit; beyond that it is £4.20 per 25-litre bag.
Is Amersham tip free?
Free for household waste if you live in Buckinghamshire and bring proof of address. DIY waste beyond your free allowance is charged per item, and non-residents pay an access fee from £28.80 to £472.70 depending on vehicle and waste type.
Skip the queue in Amersham
Same-day collection across Amersham, Little Chalfont, the Chalfonts and Gerrards Cross. We load it, we take it, and we take the DIY waste the council will not. From £95.