Residents across Swansea gear up for new era in recycling with soft plastics at the doorstep

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A Welsh council is launching an innovative kerbside recycling trial that will include soft plastic items like crisp packets, plastic food wrapping, and plastic carrier bags in household waste collections. Until now, Swansea residents had to take soft plastics to local supermarkets for recycling, as kerbside options were unavailable. This new initiative aims to make recycling more convenient by collecting these materials directly from homes.
The trial will cover 14 communities in Swansea where household waste is collected on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, involving approximately 20,000 homes from April through December. Swansea already boasts a recycling rate of around 70% for household waste, and surveys indicate that a significant portion of black bag waste consists of soft plastics. Over the coming weeks, residents in the trial areas will receive blue recycling sacks and informational leaflets detailing how the scheme works.
Cyril Anderson, Swansea Council’s cabinet member for community, emphasized the city’s strong recycling performance and the willingness of residents to recycle more, especially soft plastics that currently end up in black bags. He explained that the trial will help the council explore how to incorporate plastic bags and wrapping into regular kerbside collections. The trial includes a variety of housing types to better understand collection challenges, with the ultimate goal of reducing black bag waste and increasing the overall recycling rate.