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Find out about changes to our services and Christmas opening times on our Festive information page. To find out when your bin will be collected over the festive period, visit Changes to County Durham bin collections at Christmas.

Due to maintenance, the following systems will be unavailable from 11.45am on Tuesday 24 December until 8.00am on Thursday 2 January: our online Council Tax, business rates and housing benefit services, and our welfare assistance form. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

You can only use Thornley Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) if you live in Durham County Council's area. You now need to show proof of your address in County Durham when you use this tip.

Thornley Household Waste Recycling Centre (tip)


Thornley Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) operates every day except Friday.

Opening hours

We are currently operating on Winter opening hours (October to March):

DayOpening Times
Monday10.00am to 4.00pm
Tuesday10.00am to 4.00pm
Wednesday10.00am to 4.00pm
Thursday10.00am to 4.00pm
FridayClosed
Saturday9.00am to 3.30pm
Sunday9.00am to 3.30pm

N.B. All recycling centres are closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, other Bank Holidays operate using weekend opening hours.

Before you set off - what you need to know

  • Give enough time to unload your waste before closing time of the site, otherwise you may be refused entry.
  • If you've got a large load we advise you to get there at least 30 minutes before closing.
  • Sorting your waste into material types before visiting the recycling centre may save you time at the site.

Please note site staff will open bags to sort the waste.

Check how busy your recycling centre is

Visit our Recycling centres (tips) page to check to see how busy your local recycling centre is before you set off. You can also see whether the recycling centre is open or closed.

What you can dispose of at a recycling centre

Recycling centres are for household waste only. Staff on site may ask you about the type and quantity of waste you are disposing of, if they believe it may be business or landlord waste.

The following items can be recycled at this site:

  • soil and rubble
  • wood and plasterboard (no wood treated with hazardous material such as railway sleepers and no painted commercial heavy-duty pallets)
  • garden waste
  • scrap metal
  • gas bottles
  • waste oil and car batteries
  • tyres (maximum of five tyres)
  • household batteries
  • TV's and monitors
  • fridges and electrical appliances
  • fluorescent light tubes
  • paper and cardboard (only wrapping paper and card without foil and glitter can be recycled)
  • cans and glass
  • plastics and cartons
  • textiles and shoes
  • cooking oil
  • general waste and carpets (accepted on site, but not separated for recycling)
  • vapes and ecigarettes

Business and landlord waste

Commercial and trade waste is not accepted at this recycling centre.

If you are a business or landlord, Stainton Grove HWRC (tip) is the only recycling centre in County Durham where you can legally get rid of your trade waste. 

Find out more about how you can dispose of your waste on our commercial or trade waste collection and waste from landlords pages/

Find us

Thornley Crossings Industrial Estate, Salters Lane, Shotton Colliery  DH6 2QA

Asking for assistance on site 

Assistance provided by site staff is at the service user's own risk. The contractor and ourselves will not be responsible for any damage that may occur to vehicles or property resulting from assistance provided. 



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