Morningthorpe Recycling Centre Shuts for Good 31 October

Norfolk County Council is asking residents what they think of its 19 recycling centres. One of the 19 closes for good 13 days after the survey shuts.

The annual Recycling Centre Satisfaction Survey opened on 17 September and runs until midnight on 18 October. Morningthorpe Recycling Centre, on Bungay Road near Long Stratton, closes permanently on 31 October.

What the survey is, and who it is for

The council says the questionnaire is short and is open to everyone, including people who have never used a recycling centre. It wants to know what puts people off as much as what works.

Councillor Pat Gould, the council’s cabinet member for countryside, coast and culture, said: “Hearing directly from people who use our centres, as well as those who don’t, helps us understand what we’re doing well and where we could make things better.”

The council published two figures alongside it. In 2025/26 the 19 centres handled nearly 56,000 tonnes of household waste, and more than 75.14% of that was diverted from general waste disposal.

Why Morningthorpe is going

The closure is not a budget decision. The council announced it on 17 March, and the reason is the lease.

• The site’s 25-year lease is due to expire.
• The landowner has confirmed there will be no further extension beyond February 2027.
• The council says it must close in October to meet regulatory requirements and leave time to return the land to the right condition.

Councillor James Bensly, cabinet member for environment and waste, said: “It’s disappointing that we have to close this facility, but the decision has been taken out of our hands.”

The council names Norwich South, off the A140 and A47 on Ipswich Road, as the closest alternative. It is open daily 9am to 4pm except Wednesdays.

The centre’s own page still does not mention it

Anyone checking Morningthorpe before driving over will not learn any of this from the council’s page for the site.

The Morningthorpe Recycling Centre page carries a banner inviting visitors to fill in the satisfaction survey. It carries a notice about fridges and freezers. It lists normal opening times, daily 9am to 4pm except Wednesdays.

It says nothing about the site closing on 31 October. Checked on 24 September, the words “31 October” and “permanently” do not appear on it. The closure notice exists, but it sits on a separate news page that a resident looking up opening times has no reason to find.

What this leaves the Wymondham area with

Wymondham has its own tip, but it is part-time, and so is the next nearest one.

Two rules catch people out at all of them.

• You have to book, every time, and it is free. That includes arriving on foot or by bicycle. Bookings can be made up to a week ahead.
• Fridges and freezers are not accepted at Wymondham, Bergh Apton or Morningthorpe. The council says a national shortage of processing sites means they are only taken at Caister, Dereham, Hempton, King’s Lynn, Norwich North, Norwich South and Thetford. None of those is in the South Norfolk district.

So from 1 November, anyone in the Long Stratton area who used Morningthorpe for a weekday run has Norwich South, or a Friday-to-Monday slot at Wymondham or Bergh Apton.

What it means for you

• If you want to say anything about Norfolk’s tips, do it by midnight on 18 October. The survey is the council’s own annual one and it is open to non-users.
• Use Morningthorpe by 31 October or not at all. After that the nearest all-week option is Norwich South.
• Check the opening days before you load the car. Wymondham and Bergh Apton are shut Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
• Book first. Turning up without a slot does not work, even on foot.
• A fridge or freezer means a longer trip, to Norwich South, Dereham or Thetford.

Your kerbside collections are run by South Norfolk Council, not the county. Our Wymondham bin collection days page covers those, and council tax bands explains who charges for what.