Sixfields and Ecton Lane tips open 10am to 4pm every day, closed only on 25 and 26 December and 1 January. The booking rules, DIY limits and all six sites.
Northampton has two tips, Sixfields on the west side of town and Ecton Lane at Great Billing on the east, and they keep the same hours as the other four household waste recycling centres in West Northamptonshire: 10am to 4pm, seven days a week, all year. The rule that catches people out is not the hours. It is that you cannot turn up. Every visit needs a slot booked in advance, and a number plate camera checks the booking at the barrier. This page gives the hours, the Christmas closures, the booking rules, the vehicle and DIY limits, and the addresses of all six sites, from the council’s own pages checked on 24 September 2026.
The quick answer
- Open 10am to 4pm, seven days a week, including bank holidays, at both Northampton sites.
- Closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and shut at 2pm on Christmas Eve.
- You must book. Slots open two weeks ahead and can be booked up to 30 minutes before you arrive. The last car slot is 3.45pm.
- Household waste trips are unlimited. DIY waste is capped at four free trips every two months for a car.
The two Northampton sites
| Sixfields | Ecton Lane | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | Walter Tull Way, off Weedon Road, via the Sixfields leisure roundabout, NN5 5QL | Lower Ecton Lane, Great Billing, NN3 5HQ |
| Hours | 10am to 4pm, 7 days | 10am to 4pm, 7 days |
| Bank holidays | Open | Open |
| Christmas | Closed 25, 26 Dec and 1 Jan; 24 Dec closes 2pm | Closed 25, 26 Dec and 1 Jan; 24 Dec closes 2pm |
| Booking | Required | Required |
| Reuse shop | Yes, same hours, no booking needed | Reuse drop-off area |
| Council page updated | 29 June 2026 | 19 August 2026 |
The council asks you not to queue outside before 10am. Both sites have a 3.5 tonne vehicle weight limit, a one-way system and a speed limit, and both ask that children and animals stay in the vehicle. Sixfields has a reuse shop that runs on the same hours as the tip and does not need a booking, so it is the one entrance on the site you can walk up to (Sixfields page). At Ecton Lane, reusable goods in good condition go to a drop-off area for staff to assess (Ecton Lane page).
Christmas and New Year hours
The festive pattern is the same at all six sites and is printed on each site’s council page: closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and a 2pm finish on Christmas Eve. Everything else, including the Monday 28 December substitute bank holiday, is a normal 10am to 4pm day. Bookings for the days between Christmas and New Year open two weeks ahead in the usual way, so a slot for Sunday 27 December can be booked from Sunday 13 December. If you are looking for the kerbside changes rather than the tip, they are on our Christmas bin collections page.
How to book a slot
The council’s booking system, last updated 19 August 2026, sets the rules.
- Slots can be booked up to two weeks ahead and up to 30 minutes before your visit.
- A car slot is 15 minutes, so a 10am booking means arriving between 10am and 10.15am. Vans and other e-permit vehicles get 30 minutes.
- The last slot is 3.45pm for cars and 3.30pm for e-permit vehicles.
- You need your name, email, postal address and the vehicle’s registration, type and colour, plus the e-permit number if you have one.
- Bookings are site-specific. A Sixfields slot does not get you into Ecton Lane.
- To cancel, use the link in the confirmation email or ring the team, at least 24 hours before the slot.
An ANPR camera reads the plate at the barrier, so the registration on the booking has to be the vehicle you arrive in.
Which vehicles need an e-permit
Cars need nothing beyond the booking. Anything that looks commercial needs a free waste e-permit before it can book: vans, pick-ups, crew cabs, trailers, campervans, horseboxes and minibuses, and that includes hired vehicles. The permit is free, but it comes with a trip cap.
What is free and what is capped
There is no charge for household waste, and the number of household waste trips in a car is not capped. The limits are on DIY waste and on permit vehicles.
- Cars: four free DIY waste trips every two months. Household waste trips are unlimited.
- E-permit vehicles: six free trips in total, household and DIY combined, over 12 months.
- Traders, residents with more DIY waste than the allowance, and non-residents can pay to dispose of it at the site. The council does not print the rates on its site pages.
- Compost is sold at both Northampton sites at £4.50 for a 25-litre bag, card only.
The council’s customer service line for the recycling centres is 0300 126 7000, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Anyone who needs help on site can arrange it by emailing in advance: Sixfields asks for two days’ notice, Ecton Lane for 48 hours. Ecton Lane has ramps to the containers.
The other four West Northamptonshire sites
Your booking works at any of the six, so if Sixfields is full on the day you want, Brixworth is 15 minutes up the A508. All four keep the same 10am to 4pm, seven-day pattern and the same Christmas closures.
| Site | Address | Hours | Page updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brixworth | Scaldwell Road, Brixworth, NN6 9YE | 10am to 4pm, 7 days | 10 March 2026 |
| Daventry | Browns Road, off Staverton Road, Daventry, NN11 4NS | 10am to 4pm, 7 days | 10 March 2026 |
| Towcester | Old Greens, Norton Road, Towcester, NN12 8AX | 10am to 4pm, 7 days | 5 June 2026 |
| Farthinghoe | Farthinghoe Recycling and Re-use Centre, near Brackley, NN13 5PB | 10am to 4pm, 7 days | 8 September 2026 |
Before you set off
The Sixfields site is reached from Weedon Road through the leisure roundabout, so on a Northampton Town home matchday or a Saturday afternoon expect the approach to be slow. Ecton Lane sits off the A4500 at Great Billing. Check our roadworks and travel page for closures on either route, and if you are combining the trip with the town centre, the parking page has the car park charges. Garden waste, batteries and small electricals can all go to either tip free, which is the cheapest route for anyone who does not want the council’s £69 garden waste subscription; the kerbside rules are on our bin collection days page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I go to the Northampton tip without booking?
No. Both sites require a slot booked through the council’s system, and the barrier reads your number plate. The only exception is the Sixfields reuse shop, which needs no booking.
What time does the tip close?
4pm every day. The last car slot is 3.45pm. On Christmas Eve the sites close at 2pm.
Is the tip open on bank holidays?
Yes, 10am to 4pm, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Do I have to pay to take DIY waste?
Not within the allowance: four trips every two months in a car. Beyond that, or for traders, there is a charge on site.
Can I use a van?
Only with a free e-permit, which brings a cap of six trips in 12 months and a 30-minute slot.
Sources
- West Northamptonshire Council, Northampton Sixfields HWRC, last updated 29 June 2026
- West Northamptonshire Council, Northampton Ecton Lane HWRC, last updated 19 August 2026
- West Northamptonshire Council, HWRC booking system, last updated 19 August 2026
- West Northamptonshire Council, Find a household waste recycling centre, with the Brixworth, Daventry, Towcester and Farthinghoe site pages
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