Council chiefs say a pilot system for soft plastics reycling in eastern parts of the Vale is already exceeding expectations.
Around three metric tons of material is being collected each week from households in Penarth, Dinas Powys, Sully and surrounding areas.
The waste department at Vale of Glamorgan Council said it had expected to produce one 600kg bale of recycled soft plastic each week.
Instead, staff find themselves processing one every day - a result put down to the "positive response" from Eastern Vale residents.
Cllr Mark Wilson, cabinet member for neighbourhood, said: “I’d like to thank residents for the way in which they have embraced this pilot scheme, their reaction has been really positive."
"We have collected a lot of soft plastic waste from people’s homes which suggests there is real potential to extend this trial into other locations."
WRAP Cymru - the Waste and Resources Action Programme - is running the pilot in one of the best performing areas of Wales for recycling with over 70% of material collected and reused during 2023-24.
It comes after a source-separated recycling system was introduced in 2019 - with residents sorting their waste by material rahter than putting it all into one bag.
The soft plastics pilot will run until early next year, before a decision's made on whether to continue it and to potentially roll out the scheme elsewhere in the county.
Nearly 10% of material found in black bags is made up of soft plastics and can be recycled using the system.
Cllr Wilson added: "The Vale is renowned as a place that cares about the planet, where people do all they can to support new ways of recycling."
“Here, the council and citizens recognise the importance of protecting the natural environment for future generations as we work together towards Project Zero, our commitment to become a carbon neutral Local Authority in the next five years, with an ambition for the whole county to follow by 2050.
“It is important residents continue their commitment to this scheme and try to avoid contaminating blue bags of plastic with other materials."
“There have been a few examples of that, which is something we need to address for our performance to improve even further.”
Residents have been given blue sacks in which to place soft plastics for recycling, along with a leaflet explaining the types of materials that will be accepted at the kerbside.
The items collected as part of the trial will be recycled into products such as bags for life and bin bags, reducing the reliance on single-use plastics. It will also increase the amount of household waste than can be recycled.
Cllr Wilson said: "It is important residents continue their commitment to this scheme and try to avoid contaminating blue bags of plastic with other materials."
"There have been a few examples of that, which is something we need to address for our performance to improve even further."
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