Woodhouse Lane tip opens 8am to 8pm daily with no booking, and has closed at 6pm through the winter. Shut on Christmas Day and New Year's Day only.

Woodhouse Lane Recycling Centre, Altrincham’s tip, is open 8am to 8pm every day, and you do not need to book. Those are the summer hours. For the last two winters the same page has shown 8am to 6pm instead, so expect earlier closing once the clocks go back on Sunday 25 October.

The quick answer

  • Woodhouse Lane, off Sinderland Road, WA14 5TB: 8am to 8pm daily now. Last winter it closed at 6pm.
  • Closed only on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Open every other day, bank holidays included.
  • No booking for a car. A van, pick-up or twin-axle trailer needs a free van permit, applied for two working days ahead.

Checked on 25 September 2026 on the Recycle for Greater Manchester centre pages.

The two tips in Trafford

Trafford residents can use any of the Greater Manchester centres free, the council says on its recycling centres in Trafford page. The two in the borough are run by Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM):

Centre Address Hours today Closed
Woodhouse Lane Off Sinderland Road, Altrincham, WA14 5TB 8am to 8pm, Monday to Sunday Christmas Day, New Year’s Day
Chester Road Chester Road, Stretford, M32 9AU 8am to 8pm, Monday to Sunday Christmas Day, New Year’s Day

Winter hours: 6pm, but R4GM does not say when

R4GM does not publish a date for its winter hours. Its centre pages simply change. We checked archived copies of those pages:

Date checked Hours shown
6 October 2025 (Chester Road) 8am to 8pm
9 November 2025 (Woodhouse Lane) 8am to 6pm
24 January 2026 (Woodhouse Lane) 8am to 6pm
16 March 2026 (Longley Lane) 8am to 6pm
15 April 2026 (Chester Road) 8am to 8pm

Trafford’s own festive bin release of 15 December 2025 also gave both centres as “open 8am - 6pm daily, except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day”.

The change lines up with the clocks, which go back on Sunday 25 October 2026. From late October, plan on a 6pm close unless the centre page says otherwise.

Who needs a permit

From the R4GM centre pages:

  • Cars, including SUVs, people carriers and cars with a single-axle trailer: no permit, up to 52 visits a year.
  • Vans, hire vans and cars towing a twin-axle trailer: a van permit is needed, up to 18 visits a year. Apply for a permit account two working days before the first visit.
  • Pick-up trucks: the centre pages contradict themselves. The permit section names pick-ups as needing a van permit, but the site rules list says “No pick-up trucks”. Check with R4GM before you go in one.
  • No vehicles over 5.3 metres. No trade or business waste; traders use a weighbridge and pay.
  • Number plates are read by ANPR cameras to count visits.

What to bring, and what else is there

  • Separate your waste before you arrive. Staff check loads at the gate and direct you.
  • Rubble and hardcore: up to five 900mm by 600mm sacks per visit. Asbestos goes to a weighbridge site only.
  • Reuse: both centres take donations for R4GM’s Renew shops, including furniture with its fire label, bikes, toys with a CE or UKCA mark, working electricals and garden tools.
  • Christmas trees: real trees go in the garden waste area, artificial ones in general waste, according to the council’s Christmas tree page. The free green-bin option is on our Christmas bins page.
  • Keep children and pets in the car. Wear shoes and gloves you can work in.

Still to be confirmed

  • The date the 6pm winter close starts: watch the Woodhouse Lane page from the week of 26 October. This page will be updated.
  • Any change to Christmas week hours: last year only the two closure days differed.

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