The sites and their hours
Stirling Council's main household waste and recycling centre is Lower Polmaise, with a second site at Callander serving the Trossachs end of the area.
Lower Polmaise runs seasonal hours. From 1 April to 30 September it is open Monday to Sunday, 8.30am to 6.30pm with last entry at 6.15pm. From 1 October to 31 March it runs 8.30am to 5.00pm with last entry at 4.45pm.
That 8.30am start is the earliest of any major Scottish centre, which is genuinely useful if you want a trip done before the day starts.
Booking and the 12-visit cap
Residents reserve a slot for a preferred date and time up to 14 days in advance. Bookings can be made online, or by phoning the council's contact centre during office hours for anyone who cannot use the online system.
The rule that catches people is the cap: vans and any vehicle with a trailer are limited to twelve bookings per calendar year. That is roughly one a month, and it is a hard ceiling rather than a guideline.
For a house clearance, a garden project or a renovation, twelve van trips disappears quickly — and once the allowance is gone, it is gone until January. Worth counting before you start rather than after.
- Book a slot up to 14 days ahead
- Book online or by phone
- Vans and trailers capped at 12 visits a year
- Cap is per calendar year
- Applies to any vehicle with a trailer
- Plan multi-load jobs around it
Twelve visits doesn't go far
One collection can replace several van trips — any volume, any week, no cap.
Tip permits — the small commercial exception
Stirling is unusual in offering a route for small amounts of commercial waste. A Tip Permit can be bought from the council's Customer First Office on Port Street, and each permit entitles the holder to dispose of up to half a tonne of waste at Lower Polmaise.
That is genuinely handy for a sole trader with an occasional small load, and it is a rarity — most Scottish councils ban trade waste from recycling centres outright, as our waste guidance for builders sets out.
For anything beyond half a tonne, or for regular trade waste, you still need a registered carrier and a transfer note. That is builders waste removal.
When to have it collected
Lower Polmaise is a good site with long hours, and for a car boot it is free and easy. The limits are the booking, the twelve-visit van cap, and the fact that a big clearance simply does not fit into slots.
We cover Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Dunblane, Callander and the surrounding area with no booking, no cap and no permit. Loads run £100 to £550 + VAT by volume, and rubble or soil is £149 per tonne.
The same guide for other areas: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth and Fife.
