Hunters Lane tip in Rugby closes at 3.15pm on weekdays from 1 October and needs a booking every day. Christmas closures, Stockton hours, and fridges are back.
Checked 2 October 2026. The Rugby tip is Hunters Lane Recycling Centre, CV21 1EA, run by Warwickshire County Council. You need to book a slot to use it, every day of the week. Winter hours start on Thursday 1 October, when the late Wednesday ends and weekends close at 4.15pm.
The quick answer
- From 1 October: 9.30am to 3.15pm Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.15pm Saturday and Sunday. Book first through the county’s Eventbrite page.
- Christmas: closes at 12.30pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and is shut on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
- Fridges and freezers are accepted again since 8 September, after a month-long ban.
What you can take to the Rugby tip
The county’s table for Hunters Lane, checked 2 October 2026, splits waste three ways:
| Accepted | Restricted (limits or a booking) | Not accepted at Hunters Lane |
|---|---|---|
| Household rubbish, garden waste, cardboard, paper, glass, mixed plastic, foil, tins and cans | Hardcore, rubble and soil | Paint |
| Furniture, carpet, mattresses, wood and timber, scrap metal | Plasterboard | Tyres |
| Electrical goods, TVs and monitors, fridges and freezers, vapes, mobile phones | Asbestos | Chemicals |
| Batteries, car batteries, cooking oil, printer cartridges | Gas bottles, fluorescent tubes, used engine oil | Clinical waste and medicines |
| Clothes, shoes, telephone directories | Other hazardous waste | Fireworks, ammunition and explosives, cartons |
DIY waste is free up to a limit. Under the county’s rubble and plasterboard rules, a household can bring up to six 25kg bags of hardcore, rubble, soil, plaster or plasterboard per visit, up to four visits every four weeks, or one sheet of plasterboard no larger than 2000mm by 750mm. Anything over that is charged. Plasterboard has to be clean of tiles, insulation and bricks, and goes in its own container, so ask staff where.
Asbestos is taken at Hunters Lane, one of only four Warwickshire sites that accept it. The county’s asbestos page allows up to three sheets a month, double wrapped in heavy polythene, taped and labelled “asbestos waste”. Report to the weighbridge or a member of staff when you arrive.
Liquid paint cannot go to Hunters Lane. Water-based paint in tins more than half full is taken only at Princes Drive in Leamington (Thursdays) or Lower House Farm at Baddesley Ensor, near Atherstone (Tuesdays), by advance application, up to 25 litres a household a month, says the county’s paint page. Dried-out water-based paint can go in the landfill container at Hunters Lane or in your own bin.
Bringing a van or trailer of business waste? Hunters Lane runs a pay-as-you-throw scheme for commercial and over-limit waste, open during normal site hours, seven days a week. It takes cars, vans of any size and trailers over 1.83m on a chargeable basis.
The reuse shop at the tip
Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire runs a reuse shop at Hunters Lane selling furniture, carpets, electricals, books and tools that would otherwise be thrown away. It takes donations in opening hours and can be reached on 01788 567484. It has no parking of its own; the charity points to parking across the road.
Hunters Lane opening hours
From the county’s Hunters Lane page:
| Day | Winter, 1 October to 31 March | Summer, 1 April to 30 September |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, Tuesday | 9.30am to 3.15pm | 9.30am to 3.15pm |
| Wednesday | 9.30am to 3.15pm | 9.30am to 6.15pm |
| Thursday, Friday | 9.30am to 3.15pm | 9.30am to 3.15pm |
| Saturday, Sunday | 8.30am to 4.15pm | 8.30am to 5.45pm |
The page’s own summary line above the table still reads “Winter opening hours are in effect from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023”. The table is the current version and matches what the site says about the late Wednesday running only in the summer months.
The postcode on the county’s page is CV21 1EA.
Booking is required seven days a week
Hunters Lane is on the county’s “hybrid booking system”, and booking is required every day. The county asks people to book “before travelling to Hunters Lane to avoid delays or a wasted journey” and to come midweek if they can, because weekends are busiest and some recycling containers can be full at busy times.
- Cyclists bringing household waste do not need to book
- Height barrier: 1.98m (6ft 6in). Report to staff on arrival if your vehicle is taller
- Vans cannot bring household waste without a voucher, and are charged if they have none. The county’s vehicle restrictions page explains who qualifies
- Business waste is chargeable
Christmas and New Year 2026
The Hunters Lane page says the site “will close at 12.30pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day”. In 2026 that means:
| Date | Hunters Lane |
|---|---|
| Thursday 24 December | Open, closes 12.30pm |
| Friday 25 December | Closed |
| Saturday 26 December | Closed |
| Monday 28 December (bank holiday) | Not stated |
| Thursday 31 December | Open, closes 12.30pm |
| Friday 1 January | Closed |
Boxing Day falls on a Saturday this year, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December (GOV.UK). The county’s page does not say what happens on a substitute day. We will ask and update this table.
Garden waste will pile up this winter: Rugby Borough Council’s green bin collections stop from at least 14 December to 15 January. Our Christmas bin collections page has the detail.
Stockton: weekends only
For the south of the borough, the county’s other nearby site is Stockton Recycling Centre, Rugby Road, Stockton, CV47 8LA. It is very different from Hunters Lane:
- Closed Monday to Friday, all year
- Open 8.30am to 4.15pm on Saturdays and Sundays in winter, 8.30am to 5.45pm in summer
- Booking required at weekends
- No trailers, and restrictions on vans, pick-ups and large 4x4s
- Closed on all bank holidays. The page does not say whether that covers Saturday 26 December, which is Boxing Day but not this year’s bank holiday
Fridges and freezers are back
On 8 September 2026 the county resumed fridge and freezer collections at its recycling centres, ending a suspension that began on 5 August when about 1,000 cooling appliances had built up across its sites.
The county warns that “capacity remains limited” and that without a booking system for fridges it may have to pause again. It asks anyone who can keep an old appliance at home a little longer to do so, and points to retailer take-back when you buy a new one.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to book the Rugby tip?
Yes. Hunters Lane needs a booked slot every day of the week, made through the county’s Eventbrite page. The only exception is cyclists bringing household waste, who can turn up.
What time does the Rugby tip close?
From 1 October to 31 March it closes at 3.15pm Monday to Friday and 4.15pm on Saturday and Sunday. The 6.15pm Wednesday late opening only runs from April to September.
Can I take rubble or plasterboard to Hunters Lane?
Yes, free up to six 25kg bags per visit, four visits every four weeks. More than that is charged under pay-as-you-throw.
Does the Rugby tip take paint?
Not in liquid form. Dried water-based paint can go in general waste; tins of liquid paint more than half full go to Princes Drive or Lower House Farm by appointment.
More Rugby local information: bin collection days, Christmas bin collections, parking in Rugby and roadworks and travel.
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