Barrowell Green opens 8am to 4pm Tuesday to Sunday and needs a booked slot. Edmonton EcoPark opens 8am to 8pm daily, no booking. Christmas closures too.
Enfield has two recycling centres and they work on opposite rules. Barrowell Green in Winchmore Hill is open 8am to 4pm, Tuesday to Sunday, closed every Monday, and you cannot drive in without an appointment. Edmonton EcoPark on Lee Park Way is open 8am to 8pm every day of the week, bank holidays included, and cars need no booking at all. Both close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, though only the EcoPark says so on the council’s own page.
The quick answer
Barrowell Green, N21 3AU: Tuesday to Sunday, 8am to 4pm, closed Mondays; every vehicle needs a booked slot and vans, trailers and pick-ups also need a free permit (Enfield Council). Edmonton EcoPark, 1 Lee Park Way, N18 3BJ: 8am to 8pm, seven days a week including bank holidays; no appointment for cars or pedestrians; gates shut 15 minutes before closing (North London Waste Authority). Both are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
The two sites side by side
| Barrowell Green | Edmonton EcoPark | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | Barrowell Green, Winchmore Hill, N21 3AU | 1 Lee Park Way, Edmonton, N18 3BJ |
| Hours | Tue to Sun 8am to 4pm | Daily 8am to 8pm |
| Mondays | Closed | Open |
| Bank holidays | 8am to 4pm on the operator’s listing; closed Easter Monday | 8am to 8pm |
| Booking | Required for every vehicle; pedestrians walk in | None for cars or pedestrians |
| Van, trailer, pick-up | Free permit plus a booking | Check with the site |
| Height barrier | 1.75m | Not stated |
| Run by | LondonEnergy for Enfield Council | LondonEnergy for the North London Waste Authority |
| Phone | 020 8379 1000 | 07917 849616 |
Sources: Enfield Council, NLWA Barrowell Green, NLWA Edmonton EcoPark, LondonEnergy.
Christmas and New Year hours
The EcoPark’s page is explicit: open every day including Sundays and bank holidays, “closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day” (NLWA). In 2026 that means closed on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 December and Friday 1 January. Monday 28 December is the substitute bank holiday, and on the site’s stated rule it opens 8am to 8pm that day.
Barrowell Green’s operator lists it as open on Sundays and bank holidays from 8am to 4pm, closed on Boxing Day and closed on New Year’s Day (LondonEnergy). Christmas Day is a Friday and is not named on that list, and neither the council’s page nor the NLWA’s gives festive hours for Barrowell Green. Monday 28 December is a normal Monday closure. This page will be updated when the council or LondonEnergy publishes the full festive hours; the council’s festive waste notice went out on 16 December last year.
Two practical points for the days after Christmas, the busiest of the year at both sites:
- Barrowell Green fills its booking slots. If you want to drop a tree or the Christmas cardboard in the last week of December, book as soon as slots for those dates open.
- Arrive well before closing. LondonEnergy says you may not be admitted with a large load in the last 15 minutes or if there is a queue ahead of you, and the EcoPark’s gates shut 15 minutes early.
Booking Barrowell Green
You must book an appointment to enter Barrowell Green by vehicle. Pedestrians need no appointment. Vans, trailers and pick-up trucks need a permit as well as a booking (Enfield Council). The site uses automatic number plate recognition and is on CCTV around the clock, so the plate you book is the plate that gets in.
The vehicle permit is free and applies to vans, trailers, pick-ups, unlicensed taxis and minibuses with more than seven seats, and ambulances. You give the registration, make, model and colour, and for a trailer its length, axles and the towing vehicle. Approved households get six permits a year, posted within ten working days, and must bring the permit and photo ID. A hired van is allowed if you declare the hire and bring the hire documents. A permit does not guarantee entry; normal site rules still apply.
The council’s page also asks that children and pets stay inside the vehicle throughout, and that you reuse or recycle first, which is where the on-site Revive shop comes in.
What each site takes
Barrowell Green accepts household and car batteries, cans and aerosols, cardboard, carpet and rugs, cooking and engine oil up to 10 litres a month, small electricals, clean food and drink cartons, fridges and freezers except large American-style ones, furniture, garden waste without pots or soil, glass, bulbs and tubes, paper, dry plasterboard, plastic bottles, non-recyclable rubbish, rubble and hardcore up to six builder’s sacks per household per month, scrap metal, vapes, and DIY wood and timber up to six sacks a month. It does not take asbestos, corrosive products, chemicals, paint, gas bottles, hazardous waste, plaster, wet plasterboard, plasterboard with anything attached, or tyres, and never any trade waste (Enfield Council).
Edmonton EcoPark takes a longer list, published item by item by the NLWA, including paint, gas bottles, tyres and both real and plastic Christmas trees. Its DIY rule is stricter than Barrowell Green’s: each household can bring DIY waste “capable of being fitted into two 50 litre bags, four times in any four week period”, which covers concrete, brick, stones, sand and gravel (NLWA).
Real Christmas trees are accepted at both sites. The other routes for a tree, including the green bin and the North London Hospice collection, are on our Enfield Christmas bin collections page.
The Revive shop
Barrowell Green has a reuse shop selling donated items. It is open Tuesday to Saturday, 8am to 4pm, a day shorter than the site itself. It takes antiques, artwork, bikes and parts, books, CDs and DVDs, camping gear, clothing, furniture, garden items, ornaments, toys and games and vinyl. It cannot take electricals, because it cannot safety-test them for resale, or anything broken or very dirty (Enfield Council).
Before you drive: the free alternatives
Enfield collects non-electrical bulky items free from the kerb, up to six items a collection, and the North London Waste Authority runs a free electrical collection through AnyJunk. Both are set out on our Enfield bin collection days page. For a single sofa or fridge that is usually easier than a tip run, and Barrowell Green’s height barrier rules out most hired Lutons anyway.
Both sites sit off busy roads: Barrowell Green off Green Lanes and the EcoPark off the North Circular at Lee Park Way. Check Enfield roadworks and travel before a weekend trip.
Frequently asked questions
What time does Barrowell Green tip open? 8am to 4pm, Tuesday to Sunday. It is closed every Monday and on Easter Monday, and its operator lists it closed on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Do I need to book Barrowell Green? Yes, for any vehicle. You book a slot online with your registration; pedestrians can walk in without one. Vans, trailers and pick-ups also need a free permit.
Is Edmonton EcoPark open on bank holidays? Yes, 8am to 8pm, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day when it is closed.
Can I take a Christmas tree to the tip in Enfield? Yes. Both Barrowell Green and Edmonton EcoPark accept real trees, and the EcoPark also takes artificial ones.
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