Tonbridge has no tip of its own. The nearest are Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Allington and Maidstone, all 8am to 4.30pm and 9am to 4pm on Sundays. Book first.
Tonbridge and Malling is the one part of west Kent without a household waste recycling centre inside its boundary. Kent County Council runs 19 of them and none is in the borough, so a trip to “the Tonbridge tip” means Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Allington or Maidstone, depending on which end of the borough you live at. All four keep the same hours, all four need a booked slot, and all four turn away vans and tall vehicles without a voucher. This page sets out the hours, the booking rule, what is free and what is charged, and the one Christmas gap the council does not fill.
The quick answer
- Hours at every Kent tip: 8am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
- You must book a slot before you go. Booking is free, same-day slots are allowed, and you can book up to two weeks ahead.
- Nearest to Tonbridge town: Tunbridge Wells, North Farm Lane, TN2 3EE. Nearest to Hildenborough: Sevenoaks, at Dunbrik, TN14 6EP. Nearest to West Malling, Kings Hill, Larkfield, Snodland and Aylesford: Allington, ME16 0LE, or Maidstone at Tovil, ME15 6RJ.
The four nearest tips
| Centre | Address | Mon to Sat | Sun and bank holidays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tunbridge Wells | North Farm Lane, Tunbridge Wells TN2 3EE | 8am to 4.30pm | 9am to 4pm |
| Sevenoaks | Main Road, Dunbrik, Sundridge TN14 6EP | 8am to 4.30pm | 9am to 4pm |
| Allington | Laverstoke Road, Allington ME16 0LE | 8am to 4.30pm | 9am to 4pm |
| Maidstone | Burial Ground, Tovil, Maidstone ME15 6RJ | 8am to 4.30pm | 9am to 4pm |
Sources: the council’s pages for Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Allington and Maidstone, all read on 25 September 2026.
Every one of the four has a 2 metre (6 foot 6 inch) height barrier, and the council’s rules say you cannot park outside and carry waste in on foot. The on-site rules add that children and animals must stay in the car, and that if you book the last slot of the day you need to be unloaded before the gate shuts at 4.30pm, or 4pm on a Sunday (on-site rules).
Allington is the one with a reuse shop, and its page says you do not need a booking if you are only visiting the shop.
Booking a slot
Kent County Council has required a booking at every centre since the pandemic and has not dropped it. Its booking page says: “You can visit us on the same day you book or book up to 2 weeks in advance. There is no limit on the amount of times you can visit us in a day.” The system changed recently; there is no longer a customer account. Anyone who cannot use the online form can call 03000 41 73 73, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (book a slot).
Bring the booking reference on your phone or on paper. The gates use number plate recognition, which is also why stopping on the access road to carry things in is treated as an obstruction.
Vans and tall vehicles need a voucher
Vans and any domestic vehicle over 2 metres tall are restricted and need a vehicle voucher, applied for in advance. The council says it is “moving to digital permits for restricted vehicles in November” 2026; anyone approved before then is sent up to six paper vouchers, which will go on being accepted for a while afterwards (vehicle restrictions and vouchers).
What is free and what costs money
Ordinary household waste, garden waste, electricals, textiles and recycling are free. The charges are for DIY waste over a limit, and for tyres.
| Item | Free limit | Charge above the limit |
|---|---|---|
| DIY waste (rubble, bricks, tiles, soil, ceramic bathroom items) | 4 visits in 4 weeks; 1 large item or 2 standard black bags per visit | £5 per item or bag |
| Plasterboard | Same limit; one sheet counts as one bag | £7.50 per sheet or bag |
| Tyres (car and motorbike) | No free limit | £3 per tyre, up to 5 a day |
A “large item” is up to 200cm by 75cm and a standard bag is 50 litres. Payment is by card only at the site; the council does not take cash or cheques. There are no limits or charges for plastic kitchen units, non-ceramic sinks, baths and doors (charges at HWRCs).
Two other rules from the same page. Anyone who does not pay council tax to a Kent council, which includes Medway residents, pays £10 per visit. And Kent residents can no longer use the three Medway sites at Capstone, Cuxton and Hoath Way, which matters for the Snodland end of the borough, where Cuxton is the closest site on the map (find your local HWRC).
The council added a note on 30 July 2026 asking people to hold on to fridges and freezers a little longer if they safely can, because fridge recycling capacity is under pressure across the UK.
Christmas and New Year hours
The council prints a single line for every centre: bank holidays are 9am to 4pm. The next bank holidays are Friday 25 December, Monday 28 December (the Boxing Day substitute) and Friday 1 January 2027. The council does not say separately whether the centres open at all on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day, and in past years it has not. The reliable test is the booking system: if there is no slot to book for a date, the site is shut that day, because entry without a booking is refused. We will update this section when Kent publishes its festive hours, which in recent years has been in early December.
Bins over the same fortnight are on our Christmas bin collections page, and normal collection days on the bin collection days page. Bulky collections and missed bins are the borough council’s job, not Kent’s; questions about the tips themselves go to Kent on 03000 41 73 73.
Which tip should you use?
There is no rule tying you to a centre, so use whichever is easiest to reach. From Tonbridge town the A26 to North Farm is the shortest run. From Hildenborough and Leigh the Sevenoaks site at Dunbrik on the A25 is closer. From West Malling, Kings Hill, Leybourne, Larkfield, Ditton and Aylesford the choice is between Allington off the A20 and Maidstone at Tovil. Booking slots at the popular weekend times at North Farm go early, which is one argument for the same-day booking on a weekday morning.
Our roadworks and travel page carries the closures that can add to the trip, and the parking page covers the town car parks if you are combining errands.
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