Gypsum Close tip, Leicester: opening times, permits and rules

Gypsum Close is one of Leicester City Council's two household recycling centres, and the only city tip that takes vans for normal household waste. Here's everything you need to know before you go, checked against the council's own pages on 27 October 2026.

Where it is

Gypsum Close is one of Leicester's two city tips and sits north of the city centre. It's the closer of the two for most homes in the north and east of the city. If you're in the south or west, Freemen's Common may be nearer, but it only lets vans in for asbestos or chemicals.

Opening hours

Winter hours start on 1 November, so from then the site closes at 6pm.

Sort your waste into types before you arrive, as it speeds things up and cuts queues.

Vans, trailers and permits

Cars don't need a permit. You do need a free city council waste permit if you come in a van, pick-up or with a trailer over 1.4m:

• Who needs one: vans, pick-ups, and cars towing a trailer longer than 1.4m. The vehicle must be under 3.5 tonnes
• Full permit: 12 visits over 12 months, for your own vehicle
• Temporary permit: 3 visits over one month, for a borrowed or hired van, or for clearing a relative's or friend's home. No more than four a year per household
• You must live in Leicester city. Bring photo ID and proof of address dated within the last 12 months. A UK driving licence covers both
• Apply online through the city council's My Account
• Yearly limits with a permit: six 25kg bags of soil, bricks and rubble, four kitchen units, four bathroom items, four doors and four complete windows. Once you hit a limit, that material isn't accepted again until the permit year ends

Only household waste from your own home is allowed. Landlord clear-outs, trade work and paid tip runs are not.

What you can take

• Furniture, wood (including chipboard and MDF) and metal
• Fridges, freezers, white goods and other electrical items
• Garden waste
• Cardboard, paper, glass, cans, plastic bottles and mixed recycling
• Clothes, shoes, books and bikes
• Paint, cooking oil, used engine oil, fluorescent tubes, and car and household batteries
• Empty gas bottles
• Soil and hardcore, up to six 25kg bags per visit

What it won't take, and limits

• Asbestos and household chemicals: not at Gypsum Close in any vehicle. Use Freemen's Common
• Soil, bricks and rubble: six 25kg bags a visit. With a van permit, that's six bags for the whole permit year
• Business waste: only through the paid trade waste centre, not the household site
• Tyres: not on the council's list of accepted items, so ask before you take them

Leaving business waste at the household site can lead to prosecution, and fly-tipping carries an unlimited fine.

Re-use shop

A charity re-use shop on site, run by Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland, takes clean items in good working order and sells them on. If something's too good to throw away, ask the staff before you put it in a skip. Check the shop's hours before you go, as they differ from the tip's.

When the tip isn't the answer

A lot of people search for the tip and then realise it won't work for them. A licensed local company can load everything and take it away instead.

Leicester City Council bulky waste collection

If you live in Leicester city, the council will collect large household items from outside your home:

• Free once every two months, for up to five items
• £22 for any extra collection, up to five items
• Items must be outside by 7am. The crew won't go into your home, shed or garage, and won't take anything apart
• They won't take building waste, garden waste, items with glass or mirrors, sheds, tyres or pianos
• Once booked, a collection can't be cancelled, changed or refunded

If you can carry the items outside yourself and can wait for a slot, it's good value. If the item is upstairs, needs dismantling, or you need it gone quickly, a private collection is easier.