People will also have to book in advance and will need to provide proof of address on arrival.
The changes aim to address the issue of people from outside the county using recycling centres in Oxfordshire at the cost of the taxpayer.
The opening hours of the centres will be reduced, but this will not come into effect until winter 2027.
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Some concerns have been raised the changes could increase fly-tipping by making it harder for people to access the centres.
Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet approved the changes at their meeting on Tuesday, November 18.
At the moment anyone can visit the recycling centres between 8am and 5pm every day without booking in advance.
From January 14, 2026, residents will have to use an online booking form up to two weeks ahead or 30 minutes in advance of the visit.
They will also have to provide proof of address on arrival to show they are from Oxfordshire, which can include a driving licence, utility bill, or proof of council tax payment.
From winter 2027, the summer opening hours will be 9am to 5pm in summer (April 1 to September 30) and 9am to 4pm in winter (October 1 to March 31).
The sites will also be closed on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
Other changes include requiring people to separate their recycling from non-recyclable waste either on-site or before arrival and charging people £5.50 per square metre of household asbestos.
In the meeting, councillor Judy Roberts, cabinet member for place, environment and climate action, said: “We are surrounded by other councils that will not let our residents use their facilities, but at the moment we are processing out of county waste for free, at the cost to our own residents.”
Other areas charge for using tips in their boundaries, with Buckinghamshire charging as much as £94.50 for a medium sized car boot full and Kent charging £10 per visit.
She added that the proposal would help in preparation for the fact the Redbridge recycling centre will close for around three months.
“That is going to overload all the other recycling centres, so the idea was to get a booking system in place before that actually happened.
“It will also give us the advantage of being able to charge for out of county use.”
The booking system was approved by the county council in November 2024, but no start date was set.
Councillor Dan Levy, cabinet member for finance, added: “It is a shame that all the local authorities can’t work together and enable people who live on the edge of local authorities to use each other’s tips, but given the fact that they can’t, we have to do what we have to do.
“I’m hoping that the small inconvenience here is going to be worth it.”
Thames Valley police commissioner Matthew Barber (Image: Contributed)
Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber wrote to council leader Liz Leffman yesterday raising concerns about the proposals.
In the letter posted on X, he said the plans “will simply put barriers in the way of residents disposing of their waste appropriately”.
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“This in turn creates a risk not just of direct fly-tipping but an opportunity for an increase in unlicensed waste carriers who may dispose of that waste illegally.”
Oxfordshire’s seven tips are located in Alkerton, Ardley, Stanton Harcourt, Drayton, Crowmarsh, Oxford and Faringdon.
Hundreds of tonnes of waste were illegally dumped in a field between the river Cherwell and the A34 last week.