Welsh council trials soft plastics recycling with 12-bin system

Summarised from 3 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 28 Oct, 12:45 · Archive

Denbighshire County Council is trialling soft plastic recycling with 4,500 homes, adding to an existing system requiring up to 11 separate containers.

Denbighshire County Council in northeast Wales is trialling soft plastic recycling with approximately 4,500 homes. The trial forms part of a broader waste management system that requires residents to separate their rubbish into up to 11 separate containers under normal circumstances, and up to 12 with the new soft plastics scheme.

In an average week, most households put out an orange food waste caddy, a blue hessian sack for cardboard, and a Trolibocs—a set of three bins stacked on top of each other to form one container. Once every four weeks, residents must put out an additional residual waste bin. The council also offers optional containers for garden waste, textiles, batteries and absorbent hygiene products. Small electrical items can be placed on top of the Trolibocs.

The soft plastics trial asks residents to separate items such as crisp packets, chocolate wrappers, thin plastic bags for loose fruit, ready meal lids and chocolate pouches. The trial is set to run for three months, with council bosses saying no decision has been made on whether the scheme will become permanent.

Residents have complained about the complexity of the system. One Denbighshire resident told The Independent the process was 'ridiculous', saying he currently had six bins with a seventh incoming for the new trial. Another resident, John Jacob, said 'It's absolutely ridiculous the amount of bins we have', and noted that flat dwellers in particular have nowhere to put all their bins, with containers stacked up outside making the streetscape look poor.

The existing system was introduced following a contentious £22 million council overhaul of recycling rules in 2024. Denbighshire County Council has said it achieves some of the highest recycling rates in the UK. Authorities across Wales are pushing residents to sort more waste to meet demands from devolved ministers, who plan to roll out soft plastic recycling at the kerbside next year. In England, soft plastic collection has been pushed back from 2027 to 2030 after councils said they would not be ready, with warnings from a three-year trial that the UK has insufficient capacity to recycle it all.

How it is being reported

• People in this town say recycling has become a ‘full-time job’ as number of bins keeps growingResidents in Denbighshire can have up to 11 bins as part of the council’s drive to improve recycling ratesThe Independent · 28 Oct, 12:30
• A bin too far: The town where residents now have to sort recycling into 12 bins... and get called 'lazy' for complainingDenbighshire County Council is trialling the recycling of soft plastics such as crisp packets, chocolate wrappers and ready meal tops with some 4,500 homes.Daily Mail · 28 Oct, 00:01
• Residents fume at council’s ‘ridiculous’ 11 bins for waste and recyclingResidents in Denbighshire can have up to 11 bins as part of the council’s drive to improve recycling ratesThe Independent · 27 Oct, 15:41
• Residents 'furious' after council forces them to put out 12 separate binsResidents in a Welsh county have been left furious after being forced to put out 12 separate bins for their waste collection. Locals in Denbighshire in northeast Wales have been subjected to one of Britain's most "complicated" recycling systems as part of a new eco drive. The new three-month trial, has invited residents to join 4,500 homes in sorting yet another section of plastic packaging waste. Examples of items permitted under the scheme include thin plastic bags for loose fruit, ready meal lids and pouches of chocolate. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Locals are already expected to…GB News · 27 Oct, 14:49

In this story: Denbighshire County Council · Denbighshire · Wales · John Jacob · England · UK

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