April rollout for soft plastics recycling

Wednesday, 28 January 2026 19:40

A recycling system for soft plastics will be rolled out across the Vale of Glamorgan in the Spring.

Last Easter, a pilot scheme began in the east of the county, allowing 16,000 homes to leave out their soft plastics and wrapping at the kerbside for collection.

Within three months of the launch, Vale of Glamorgan Council said it was collecting two-and-a-half tonnes a week in Penarth, Dinas Powys, Sully and surrounding areas.

Now, the council has confirmed the scheme will be extended across the rest of the Vale from April.

Cllr Mark Wilson, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said: "The Vale is renowned as a place that cares about the planet, where people do all they can to support new ways of recycling."

"That is why WRAP Cymru decided we should be one of the first areas in Wales to pilot this recycling method. Once again, our residents have stepped up to embrace a new service, making the trial a huge success."

"That means this system can continue in the places that already have it and be expanded to the entire Vale in a few months' time."

WRAP Cymru (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) chose the Vale to pilot the recycling scheme because of its high recycling rates - one of the performing areas of Wales.

In the last ten months, more than 72 tonnes of high quality material has been collected, including bags and wrapping that would have otherwise in black bags.

Since 2019, source separated recycling has been in use locally, with services since introduced to recycle textiles and small appliances.

The scheme will continue as normal in the Eastern Vale - but from March, residents in other areas will get blue plastic sacks designated for recycling soft plastics, along with information about what will be accepted the kerbside.

Items collected can be recycled into products such as bags for life and bin bags, reducing the reliance on single-use plastics, and increasing the overall amount of household waste than can be recycled.

The council says it will provide further information for residents in apartment buldings that do not have kerbside collections in due course.

Cllr Wilson added: "I'd like to thank citizens for their fantastic response as we continue to work together towards Project Zero, our commitment to become a carbon neutral Local Authority by 2030 and a carbon neutral county by 2050."

"I'm sure people living in other areas of the Vale will show the same backing and maintain our status as one of the leading industry leaders in the field of recycling."

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