Stourbridge and Dudley tips are currently unable to accept fridge, freezers and cooling appliances due to a national crisis.
The booking system for Dudley Council's recycling centre reads: "Fridges and freezers are no longer accepted at either Stourbridge, Lister Road or Northway for the foreseeable future."
"This is due to a national shortage of storage and treatment capacity."
A bit of deeper digging reveals the quiet and recent crisis this is becoming across the country.
Wastecare, a leading waste management service, say: "Plant closures and a recent fire at a treatment facility have removed meaningful capacity from the system at a stroke, and the consequences are already being felt across the industry."
"Fridges and freezers are not straightforward to recycle. They contain a mix of hazardous materials that require specialist handling", added the Wastecare statement.
A major setback to the industry came late last year when a major fridge and freezer recycling centre filed a compulsory petition for liquidation.
The sector’s capacity was further tested in 2026 by a series of fires at specialist treatment facilities.
In February, a fire forced the closure of a fridge recycling plant near Walsall.
Dudley Borough has just one permanent recycling centre in Stourbridge, with the other two at Lister road and Northway being pop-up locations, with limited availability for bookings.
Dudley Council announced last month that they have invested £150,000 to expand the scheme, doubling the number of sessions to four each month.
Currently bookings at these sites and the permanent Stourbridge site must be made 14 days in advance.
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