Lichfield and Burntwood Tips: Winter Hours, Charges and the Fridge Ban

The Lichfield tip on Witley Drive and the Burntwood tip at Chase Terrace are both open 9am to 5pm on winter hours until 27 March 2027, with no booking needed for a car. Lichfield shuts on Mondays and Tuesdays, Burntwood on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so one of them is open every day of the week.

Overview

• Lichfield: Witley Drive, Trent Valley Road, WS13 6EU. Wednesday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
• Burntwood: Ring Road, Chase Terrace, WS7 3JQ. Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 5pm. Closed Wednesday and Thursday.
• Booking: none. Cars get unlimited free visits.
• Vans and big trailers: free permit needed, 12 visits a year. Apply for a van permit.
• Not taken right now: fridges and freezers (at any Staffordshire tip) and asbestos (not at either of these two).
• Phone: Staffordshire County Council, 0300 111 8000. Check what each tip takes.

Both sites are run by Staffordshire County Council, not Lichfield District Council, which is why the district’s bin pages say little about them.

Opening times, 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027

Source: Staffordshire County Council’s Lichfield and Burntwood recycling centre pages. Neither page lists Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day arrangements yet. Short-notice closures, such as a site shutting early when its lights fail, go on the county’s recycling centre notices page, which is worth a look before a long drive.

Getting there

Lichfield is on Witley Drive, an industrial estate road off Trent Valley Road, about half a kilometre west of Lichfield Trent Valley station. Use WS13 6EU in a sat nav.

Burntwood is on Ring Road at Chase Terrace, postcode WS7 3JQ.

Every Staffordshire site has a 2 metre height barrier. Staff can raise it if your vehicle is taller. Keep children and pets in the car while you unload.

Vans, pick-ups and trailers

A car needs no permit and can visit as often as you like. Estates, people carriers, 4x4s, double cab pick-ups and trailers under 1.5 metres (or under 570 litres) count as cars.

Anything else, including a single cab pick-up, a hired van or a trailer over 1.5 metres, needs a free e-permit:

• One permit per household, Staffordshire residents only, household waste only.
• Valid for 12 months and 12 visits.
• To apply you need an email address, proof of residency and the vehicle registration. A hire van can be entered as “HireVehicle”; that permit lasts a month and you show the hire agreement on site.
• On arrival, give staff the permit number, the registered address or the registration.

Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, trailers over 2.5 metres, tipper trucks, horse boxes and quad bikes are turned away. So is any load that looks like it came from a business or a renovation job.

What it costs

Ordinary household waste is free, including garden waste, furniture, sofas, mattresses, TVs and other electricals. Charges only start on DIY and building waste, and only above a free allowance. Payment is card only (no American Express, no cash or cheques).

Bicycle tyres, plant pots, compost, play pit sand and flood sandbags are free. Keep plasterboard separate from rubble and soil: mixed loads are refused. The county accepts plasterboard at only six of its sites, so ring before taking it.

Limits on some free items

These go in free, but there is a cap, and you may be asked to sign a form saying the waste is from your own home.

What neither tip will take at the moment

• Fridges and freezers. Staffordshire says that, because of a national problem, it cannot currently accept fridges, freezers or fridge-freezers at any of its recycling centres. Lichfield District Council’s bulky and scrap collection is the other route.
• Asbestos. Only Bilbrook, Burton, Cannock, Leek and Stafford take bonded asbestos, between 1pm and 3pm, double wrapped in clear polythene.
• Wood, sometimes. The county warns that some sites may be temporarily unable to take wood because of national problems with biomass outlets.
• Trade waste without the paperwork. Businesses need a waste carrier’s licence and a Staffordshire business address, and pay under the county’s trade waste scheme. Upholstered seating from a business is refused outright.

Questions people ask

Which Lichfield tip is open on a Monday?

Burntwood, on Ring Road at Chase Terrace, 9am to 5pm. The Lichfield site on Witley Drive is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Do I need to book a slot?

No. Neither Lichfield nor Burntwood uses booking. Cars just turn up; vans and large trailers need the free permit before they arrive.

Can I take an old sofa?

Yes, free, at both sites. Household furniture, including electric recliners, is accepted at any Staffordshire recycling centre.

Where do I take an old fridge in Lichfield?

Not to a tip for now: no Staffordshire recycling centre is accepting them. Book a council bulky collection, or ask the shop delivering your new one to take the old one away.

Sources

All checked on 11 November 2026.

• Staffordshire County Council, Lichfield and Burntwood recycling centres: addresses, winter hours, permits, trade waste.
• Van and trailer permits: vehicle rules, 12 visits, height barriers.
• Chargeable items and restricted wastes and disposal limits: charges and limits.
• “I want to dispose of” pages for fridges, asbestos, wood and timber, settees and tyres.
• Recycling centre notices, last updated 10 November 2026.

Last checked 11 November 2026.

Related: Lichfield bin collection days, parking in Lichfield and roadworks and travel.