Richmond Council has paused fridge and freezer collections, and Townmead Road will not take them. Keep yours at home or use a retailer take-back; here is why.

You can no longer get rid of an old fridge or freezer through Richmond Council. It has paused its collections, and the Townmead Road recycling centre in Kew has stopped accepting them. The council announced the pause on 26 October and gives no date for the service to return.

The council says the cause is “a national shortage of processing capacity”. Fridges and freezers have to be treated at specialist sites because of the gases in their cooling systems, and those sites are full.

What has stopped

  • Collections: residents cannot book a fridge or freezer collection. The booking page now says the council is “currently unable to collect fridges and freezers”.
  • Townmead Road: the recycling and reuse centre will not take them.
  • Other tips in west London: the council asks residents not to drive them to other recycling centres in the area either, because those sites cannot take them.

Ordinary bulky item collections are still running. Only fridges and freezers are affected.

What the council asks you to do

From the council’s fridge and freezer page, updated 26 October:

  • If you are buying a new one, use the retailer’s take-back service where it offers one, so the old appliance goes when the new one arrives.
  • Otherwise, keep it at home where that is practical, until collections resume.
  • Do not leave it on the street or on public land. The council says that “may be treated as fly-tipping”.

The last point matters. Richmond recorded 5,611 fly-tips in 2024/25, its highest on record, and says it is stepping up enforcement, with on-the-spot fines of £1,000 for small fly-tips.

Why it is happening

Richmond is not the first council to stop. The Local Government Association warned on 27 August that “dozens of councils” had already been forced to stop or restrict fridge and freezer collections. It blamed “the closure of specialist treatment facilities and a wider shortage of capacity”. It said summer heatwaves had added to the backlog, because fridges are more likely to fail in hot weather.

Under the rules for electrical waste, the manufacturers pay for collecting and recycling old appliances, through compliance schemes. The LGA says some of those schemes have delayed or stopped collections from council sites. It has asked the Government to make producers fund temporary storage and treatment and repay councils’ extra costs.

Richmond says its pause is “part of the West London and national approach to manage demand”.

What it means for you

If your fridge dies this winter, the cheapest route is the shop selling you the new one. Ask about take-back before you order, as not every retailer offers it. If you are clearing a fridge for a move or a renovation, you may need to store it for weeks.

Check the council’s fridge and freezer page for the restart date. Our guide to Townmead Road recycling centre covers what it does still take, and bin collection days covers the rest of your rubbish.

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