Repairs at the Danes Moss tip start on Monday 16 November and last several months. Wood, rubble, asbestos and plasterboard go elsewhere; expect queues and steps.

Macclesfield’s tip at Danes Moss will stop accepting wood, rubble, asbestos and plasterboard from Monday 16 November, while repair works are carried out. The works will take “several months”, Cheshire East Council says. Everything else will still be accepted.

The council announced the works on Wednesday. It has not given an end date (Cheshire East Council, 28 October).

What changes at the site

From 16 November, the council says:

  • the containers move to a different part of the site, with new traffic management
  • you reach them up several steps and platforms, so think about what you can safely carry
  • the site closes for up to 30 minutes at a time while skips are swapped and compacted
  • queues will be longer, especially at peak times
  • staff will help where they can, and will be on hand to meet and greet visitors

Weekend visits still need a booking, and the same restrictions apply at weekends.

The steps are the change most likely to catch people out. A heavy bag of garden waste or an old chest of drawers is a different job when it has to go up a platform rather than over a low wall. The council’s advice is to judge the size and weight of each load before you set off (repair work at Macclesfield HWRC).

Where to take what Danes Moss will not accept

The council’s announcement says only that these materials can go to “an alternative site in Cheshire East”. Its own list of what each tip takes fills in the rest (what you can recycle at household waste recycling centres):

Material Where it can go during the works
Asbestos Pyms Lane, Crewe, or Hassall Road, Alsager
Plasterboard Pyms Lane, Crewe only (small DIY amounts, as before the works)
Wood and chipboard Another Cheshire East tip; Knutsford is the nearest
DIY rubble Another Cheshire East tip; Knutsford is the nearest

Plasterboard was already a Crewe-only material on the council’s list, so for most people that line changes nothing.

The distances are the real cost. Knutsford’s tip, off Mobberley Road at Shaw Heath (WA16 8HT), is about ten miles west of Macclesfield town centre in a straight line. Alsager (ST7 2SJ) is about 13 miles south west, and Pyms Lane in Crewe (CW1 3PJ) about 18 miles (site addresses, Cheshire East Council). Driving distances are longer.

Knutsford also needs a booking at weekends, through the same waste portal. If you have a van or a large trailer, check the household waste permit rules first. Only Danes Moss and Pyms Lane take trailers over 2.5 metres.

Why now

The council says the works are “unavoidable”. It has not said what is being repaired.

Councillor David Jefferay, cabinet member for environment, sustainability and waste management, said the council had scheduled the works “at one of the quieter times of the year for visits”.

“We recognise that they are going to cause some disruption and have an impact on visitors’ experience at the site,” he said.

What it means for you

  • Got a garden clearance or a DIY job planned? Take wood and rubble to Danes Moss before Monday 16 November if you can.
  • Avoid Mondays and Tuesdays. The council says those are the site’s busiest days.
  • Allow extra time for queues and the 30-minute closures. Winter opening is 8.30am to 4pm, seven days a week.
  • Check the size of the load. Everything has to be carried up steps.
  • Book weekend slots as usual through the waste portal.

The mobile recycling service still visits Duke Street car park on the first Saturday of each month. It does not take rubble or plasterboard either.

Opening hours, booking rules and bin days are on our Macclesfield bin collection days page.