FAQs - Recycling and waste

Summer opening times (April 1 - Sep 30) Winter opening times (Oct 1 – March 31)

Llanelli recycling centre is open seven days a week

Nantycaws, Carmarthen and Wernddu, Ammanford recycling centres are open six days a week, closed Tuesdays

Whitland recycling centre is open five days a week, closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays

Please see our webpage for any individual site holiday closures and reduced opening times

Before entering, you will need to have the following with you to show to the site attendant:

• Proof of residency, one of the following - Driving licence, your current Council Tax bill, a utility bill, (no older than 3 months)
• Permit if your vehicle requires one.

Upon entering the recycling centre, a site operative will ask to see a copy of your permit. Once verified you will be asked to place it in a collection box on site.

Unfortunately, site staff cannot help to remove items from any vehicles, however you can bring someone with you to help unload your waste or you may notify one of the site staff that you need to leave a heavy or bulky item on the ground. The staff will then place the waste into the correct receptacle.

Yes, but they must not leave the vehicle. 

No. Please do not visit the recycling centre if you are self-isolating or displaying any symptoms of Coronavirus.

Make sure any waste suspected to be infected with COVID-19 is double bagged and kept on your property for a minimum of 72 hours before disposal.

Visit CWM Environmental website for a list of what can be taken to this site or use our A-Z of recycling.

If you have more than 3 bags, then you can take the additional bags to a recycling centre 

If you do need to bring any black bags, sort them at home and make sure that anything that can be recycled either at the centre or placed in your blue bag is removed.

Please try to recycle as much as you can and help us to reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill. If you’re not sure what can be recycled have a look at the A-Z of recycling section of our website.

Most household items can be recycled, either in your blue bag, your food waste bin, at recycling banks or in our recycling centres. Anything that can be recycled is not allowed in your black bags.

Some items however cannot be recycled and should go in your black bag. This includes things like cat litter, tissues, kitchen/bathroom wipes and vacuum cleaner contents.

Check which items you can recycle on our A-Z of recycling.

On average almost half the content of black bags in Carmarthenshire are recyclable. By separating this recyclable material, we hope to increase our overall recycling rate, helping Carmarthenshire to achieve Welsh Government’s 70% recycling target by 2025 and avoid a hefty fine.

We recommend that you sort your black bags at home before you come to the recycling centre. Separate items that can go in individual bins at the recycling centre such as glass, paper / cardboard, clothes and shoes, garden waste etc.

Many household items can also be recycled, either in your blue bag or your green food bin.

Check which items you can recycle in our A-Z of recycling.

There is a designated sorting area at all of our recycling centres. You can place your recyclable items into labelled bins in these areas. If you’re not sure what to do our staff are on hand to help you.

We recommend that you sort your black bags at home before you come to the recycling centre. Many household items can be recycled, either in your blue bag or your food waste bin.

Other items such as glass and clothes can be recycled at the recycling centre or smaller recycling banks. Separate these before you come ready to place them in the correct area/bin.

Check which items you can recycle on our A-Z of recycling.

We recommend that you sort your waste into recyclable and non-recyclable materials before coming to the recycling centre. Many household items can be recycled, either in your blue bag or your food waste bin.

Other items such as glass, clothes and small electrical items can be recycled at the recycling centre or smaller recycling banks.

Have a look at the A-Z of Recycling to find out what can be recycled.

If you bring black bags to the recycling centre, you will have to sort them at one of our designated sorting stations. You will be provided with gloves, aprons, tongs and antibacterial spray and there will be labelled bins for you to put your recyclable materials in. There will be signs at the sorting stations explaining what you need to do, but if you are unsure, staff will be on hand to advise.

If there are items in your black bag that cannot be recycled and you are not comfortable opening the bag at the recycling centre, please place the bag out for collection at the kerbside.

Any black bags that you bring to the recycling centre will have to be opened.

You can dispose of the equivalent of up to three bags per month of plasterboard and up to three bags per year of asbestos. Asbestos must be double bagged, but plasterboard must be loose. Please ask staff about this on arrival.

You can bring sheets of asbestos or large volumes of plasterboard and loose asbestos to Nantycaws only. You will be required to take the material over the weighbridge and pay the appropriate disposal charge. Please ring 01267 275536 to find the latest disposal fees.

Please do not queue jump, unless instructed to do so by site staff or there is space in the recycling bays. Be kind and patient to others using the site.

As long as your vehicle is not on our banned vehicles list, you can buy bagged compost from any of our recycling centres.  You can purchase Merlin’s Magic compost for £2.50 per bag. It is available at all our recycling centres as well as Canolfan Eto, at Nantycaws. You must have the exact amount of money. We will be unable to give any change.

You can also purchase larger amounts loose from Cwm Environmental at Nanty caws.  If you are using a vehicle which requires a permit or is banned from entering our recycling centres, turn right as you enter from the access road and report to the weigh-bridge office.

You must have the exact amount to pay for their disposal, we will be unable to give any change.  Please visit Cwm Environmental’s website for the latest fees.

No, our sites are provided for Carmarthenshire residents only and residency checks are in place. You will need to bring one of the following as proof of residency: your driving licence, your current Council Tax bill or a utility bill, (no older than 3 months).

If you are a non-resident and need access to clear waste for a relative following a family bereavement, then please contact us.

No, our recycling centres cannot accept business waste, which must be disposed of using a licensed facility meeting Duty of Care requirements.  Nantycaws Transfer Station, Carmarthen has facilities for household and business waste and there are also a number of licensed private sites which can be found online by searching ‘waste transfer stations in my area’.  Most facilities that accept commercial waste will charge for disposal.

Depositing commercial waste at the HWRC sites is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and could result in an unlimited fine and up to 5 years imprisonment.

Our recycling centres are for the use of Carmarthenshire residents to dispose of household waste only. The introduction of a free permit system has helped us to ensure that businesses are not using the recycling centres illegally to dispose of commercial waste

If your vehicle requires a permit you can apply online. You will need to provide the following information:

• Your details
• Vehicle details
• Copy/scan of all pages of your V5C vehicle log book
• Proof of address - You only need to send one proof of address which could be a copy of your council tax bill, utility bill (less than 3 months old) or driver’s licence. 

Check if you need a permit Apply for a permit

Depending on the type of vehicle you are using, you may be required to apply for a free permit to use the recycling centres. The permit will allow you to access any recycling centre in Carmarthenshire up to 12 times per year.

Your permit will be registered against the vehicle that you drive. On arrival at the recycling centre, a member of staff will check your permit details against those of your vehicle, and remove one of the 12 permit tabs to show that it has been used.

Check if you need a permit

The free permit scheme applies at all of our recycling centres. Whether you will need a permit or not depends on the type of vehicle you are bringing to the recycling centre. If you do require a permit, you can apply online.

Check if you need a permit

You will need to provide a copy of your vehicle’s V5C log book as well as a proof of address document that corresponds to the address registered on your V5C.

For proof of address we accept the following documents:

• Driving licence
• Your Council Tax bill
• A utility bill, (no older than 3 months)

When a fully completed application form with supporting documents is received and validated, permits will be issued within 10 working days.

You can apply for a permit if the vehicle is registered to a business, as long as you have the company’s permission to use the vehicle for personal use and you are only transporting household waste.

Along with your completed permit application, you will need to provide us with the following:

• A company headed letter, from your employer stating you have permission to use the vehicle for personal use
• Copy/scan of the V5C vehicle log book – which shows the name and address the vehicle is registered to.
• Proof of address - You only need to send one proof of address which could be a copy of your council tax bill, utility bill (less than 3 months old) or driving licence. 

Apply for a permit

Yes you will be able to apply for a permit. You are considered to be living in a shared house, if you live with unrelated individuals at the same property.

Along with your permit application, you will need:

• A copy of your V5C
• A council tax bill

If your council tax bill is issued to your landlord instead, you can still apply for a permit, however we will have to carry out further checks on your application. 

Agricultural vehicles, horseboxes, tippers, flatbeds, caged vehicles, drop/curtain sided vehicles and vehicles over 3.5 tonnes including box and panelled vans are not allowed in the recycling centres.

Any vehicles towing a trailer more than 2.44 metres/8ft bed length regardless of number of axles will also not be allowed in.  Panelled vans 3.5 tonnes or under and single cab pickups are not permitted to tow any trailers in the recycling centres.

No, permits are registered to your own vehicle, so cannot be transferred

Your permit starts from the month that you receive it and you cannot visit more than 12 times during any 12 month period. You will still be able to use the recycling centre with any vehicle that does not require a permit e.g car, 4x4, SUV, people carrier etc.

After 12 months from the date of issue of your previous permit you will be able to re-apply for a new permit.

You only need to renew if you have used 10 or more of your tickets.  When this happens, you will be sent an email/letter with instructions on what to do.  If you do not receive these instructions, please phone Cwm Environmental on 01267 225520.

If you applied more than 12 months ago and you still have more than 3 tickets left, then continue to use them. 

No, it will remain in effect until you have used all 12 visits.

Trailers are permitted with restrictions.  The maximum size is 2.44 metres (8 foot) bed length, regardless of number of axles.  To see which vehicles are permitted with trailers please use our vehicle guide.

Check if you need a permit

Adapted vehicles for disabled use will be able to access the sites.  If you believe your adapted vehicle falls into the permit category, please contact us before applying for a permit.

Yes, the hire should be for 3 days or less and you will need to use your own vehicle details when you book an appointment You will need to take the following, when you visit:

• Your booking reference number
• Vehicle hire document
• Proof of residency

Yes, if your vehicle is carrying household waste, and is an allowed vehicle type as explained on our vehicle guide.

DOWNLOAD VEHICLE GUIDE

Yes, if you are a Carmarthenshire resident and carrying household waste. 

The site management may refuse entry if they suspect that the vehicle is being used to carry commercial waste.

In a county of over 90,000 households, everyone’s food waste mounts up – the smallest amount will have an impact. It’s up to you what that impact is!

If you put your food waste into your black bag it goes to landfill. As food waste rots in landfill it gives off the greenhouse gas methane which is responsible for climate change.

The food we collect in your food bin is used to generate electricity and to make fertiliser. Just 6 recycled tea bags could produce enough electricity to boil a kettle for another cuppa.

Putting your food waste into your food bin also stops animals from tearing open your black bags.

Deliveries are made to all households between November - April. 

They will be left within the boundary of your property, or at your usual bin collection point.

Houses across the road or further down the street can often be on different delivery routes. Therefore, you could receive your items at different times.

If you run out of bags/liners before your delivery, check our outlets for what is available and where to collect.

We ask wardens to take delivery of bags for all residents or arrange for us to have access so that we can deliver them.

For any new housing sites with sections of the site that are still under construction, we will ask the developer to take the delivery and issue bags to residents.

If you run out of bags/liners before your delivery, check our outlets for what is available and where to collect.

• If your collection point is usually at the end of the lane, we will place the bags there. 
• If you use a bunker we will leave the bags inside the bunker. 
• If you use a wheelie bin we will leave the bags next to the bin.

Your bags will be left on the door step.

No, blue bags and food waste liners are issued for household recycling only. All businesses have a duty of care to dispose of their waste appropriately through a commercial waste agreement with a registered waste carrier.

Some households are serviced by smaller caged vehicles which means that the food waste is not contained in the same way as on our larger collection vehicles. These households have been provided large liners because they are stronger and contain the waste more securely.

If you have been provided with large liners it is really important that you use them, even if you are using the smaller caddie liners, as they stop food waste from spilling out of the vehicle.

Food scraps, vegetable peelings, meat and fish including bones, seafood shells, waste pet food, egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds can go in your kitchen caddy / food bin. Have a look on the A-Z of recycling to see a full list of what goes in your food bin.

We will provide you with a kitchen caddy to put in your kitchen and a food bin, to put out for weekly collection.  We also supply food liners to make it easier for you to recycle all of your food waste.

Complete our online form to request a new kitchen caddy / food bin. Or collect one from your nearest Customer Service Hwb.

Request a KITCHEN caddy / food bin

Find out what can go in your blue bag or green food bin in our A-Z of recycling. If you are recycling everything you can but are still finding it difficult to keep to the black bag limit, you may be eligible to increase your black bag allowance. 

black bags

On average almost half of the contents of black bags in Carmarthenshire are recyclable and as much as a quarter of it is food waste.

We have to meet Welsh Government’s 70% recycling target by 2025 to avoid a hefty fine and more importantly, recycling is much better for the environment than burying our rubbish in landfill.

If you put as much as you can into your blue bags and food bin and take other items such as old clothes/shoes and glass to recycling banks or centres you will help us to achieve this.

You’d be surprised how little needs to go in your black bag – take a look on our A-Z of recycling to find out more.

If your permit has been lost or stolen please let us know. Once we have verified your information we will reissue the number of tickets that you had remaining. Remember if you have already used all 12 of your permit tickets you will not be able to renew until 12 months from the original date of issue.

Report a lost/stolen permit

All garden waste must be placed loose inside the bin (please do not use any bags). Any waste placed outside of the bin will NOT be collected.

Yes, put it in:

• Hedge, tree & shrub cuttings; roots, grass cuttings & rakings; leaves; plants, flowers & weeds.

No, leave it out:

• Plastic bags, pots & trays; brick, rubble, soil & stone; fences, sheds & posts; food waste including peelings; tree stumps & branches over 4ins (10cm) diameter; animal bedding, litter & faeces; invasive weeds such as Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed & Himalayan balsam.

Your bin will NOT be emptied if it contains items that are not allowed. Regular contamination will be investigated and if it continues the service may cease.

Please do not overfill or compact the waste within the bin. If it is too heavy for our lorry to lift it will NOT be emptied.

Have a look on the A-Z of recycling to see a full list of what goes in your garden waste bin.

We deliver three rolls to every household between November - April .  If you run out you will be able to pick up one roll from one of our Blue Bag outlets.

There is no limit on the number of blue bags you can place for collection.

Blue bags are collected weekly.

Paper/Card - Newspaper/magazines, catalogues, telephone directories, junk mail, writing paper, shredded paper, envelopes, food and drink cartons, cereal boxes, cardboard boxes, toilet roll/kitchen roll tubes, egg boxes, ready meal sleeves

Plastic - Plastic bottles, yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, plastic punnets/ready meal trays, plastic coat hangers, plastic film

Metals - Food and drink cans, aerosols, jam jar lids, foil.

Have a look on the A-Z of recycling to see a full list of what goes in your blue bag.

We will email or write to you before your subscription is due for renewal.

Your garden waste will be collected fortnightly between March and November.

We will notify you of your collection day when you sign up. Collections will be made fortnightly. Remember there may be changes to collection days on or after bank holidays.

The garden waste bin must be placed at the same location that your rubbish/recycling is collected from.

You will be provided with a 240 litre wheelie bin, which will hold the equivalent of approximately six standard size refuse bags. However, please remember you must put your garden waste loose into the bin.

All subscriptions will run annually with collections taking place between March and November. You will pay the full cost whatever point in the year you subscribe to the service or even if you only need a few collections.

We will NOT be able to offer any refunds. If you wish to cancel your subscription please let us know and we will terminate the service with immediate effect.

If you move within the county you can take your bin with you to your new address. Please let us know at least 10 working days before you are due to move so that we can make sure your bin gets emptied at your new address. If you move outside the county please contact us so that we can make arrangements to have your bin returned.

The collection of garden waste is not a statutory service. The charge covers the hire of the bin and the costs of making the fortnightly collections. This is also fairer for residents who do not have a garden, who choose to compost at home, or who do not want to use the service.

Your service will start with the delivery of your bin which we aim to deliver within 10 working days of receiving your payment. However, this may not be possible in busy periods, such as the start of the new subscription year due to high demand.

In order to maintain a cost effective service it has been decided not to provide the service during the winter months when little or no garden waste is generated.

Garden waste can be home composted or taken to one of our household waste recycling centres. Compost bins can be purchased from us for £12 including delivery.

Perhaps you could join forces with a neighbour who has more space to keep the wheeled bin. By doing this, you will still benefit from the service and save money by sharing the cost.

If you do not think you will be able to a handle a 240 litre wheeled bin please email ENVGardenWaste@carmarthenshire.gov.uk so we can advise you of other options.

Some properties may not be suitable for this service due to restricted access for our collection vehicles. We reserve the right to decide whether we can provide the garden waste collection service.

Yes, provided it is practicable to do so. Please fill in the application form online. We will visit your property first to carry out some checks before we can offer you the service. You will be emailed with a decision within 10 working days.

No, only garden waste within the bin will be collected.

Yes, as long as you pay the annual charge for the collection service for each bin you can have as many bins as you like.

If payment is not received, collections will be suspended and the bin will be removed.

Yes, but we will need to make an assessment of the access to your property first.  To apply for this service, you will need to call 01267 234567, we will ask some questions about your property and proposed collection point.

Once we receive your request it will be assessed by our team and a decision will be made on whether we can offer this service to you. We only need to assess your property once.  If you apply for any additional waste collections, we will collect from the same point.

No, the service is for households only.

Hygiene waste includes items used to dispose of human urine, faeces and other bodily secretions or excretions. Absorbent Hygiene Products (AHP) are items used to absorb bodily fluids and wastes.  Wherever possible, any items should be emptied, before being bagged.

This includes:

Disposable bed pans & liners, incontinence pads, bed and chair pads

Colostomy/stoma bags, catheter bags and urine bottles

Plastic gloves & disposable aprons

Nappies including any bags & wipes

It does not include:

Sanitary products

Pet waste

Clinical waste *

* If you need to dispose of clinical waste please call Hywel Dda on 01267 227641 or email: Environment.team@wales.nhs.uk. Clinical waste must never be placed in household waste bags.

Clinical waste includes the following types of waste:

Identifiable human tissue

Blood

Soiled surgical dressings, swabs and other similar soiled waste

Discarded syringe needles

Drugs or other pharmaceutical products

Clinical waste cannot be placed into black or purple bags and must be collected by Hywel Dda University Health Board.

If you need a clinical waste collection, please call Hywel Dda on 01267 227641 or email: Environment.team@wales.nhs.uk.

You can apply online for our free hygiene/nappy collection service for either yourself or a member of your family.

Once we've received your application your purple bags will be delivered within 10 working days. If you’re applying on behalf of someone else the bags will be delivered to their home.

We will collect your bags every fortnight, you will be allocated a collection day and a calendar to show you which weeks to put your bags out. Collections take place between 7am and 3pm so you need to put your bags out before 7am.

If you require both hygiene and nappy waste collections, you will need to make two separate applications.

You cannot apply if you run a nursery or are a child minder as this is classed as commercial waste.

Apply for hygiene/nappy collection

Yes, you can apply online for our free hygiene/nappy collection service. It doesn’t matter how many nappies you use; please use our nappy collection service it will mean less waste going into landfill.

Once we've received your application your purple bags will be delivered within 10 working days. We will collect your bags every fortnight, you will be allocated a collection day and a calendar to show you which weeks to put your bags out.

You will not automatically receive a hygiene / nappy collection, you must apply.

apply for hygiene/nappy collection

No.  Their parent/guardian should apply to have a collection from their home address. They can provide you with a purple bag to place any nappies in when they stay with you. You can then give this back for them to place out for collection at their own property. 

No, as this would be classed as commercial waste. 

What can I put in my purple bag?

You can put the following items in your purple bag:

Disposable bed pans & liners, incontinence pads, bed and chair pads

Colostomy/stoma bags, catheter bags and urine bottles

Plastic gloves & disposable aprons

Nappies including any bags & wipes

Feeding tubes

Wherever possible, any items should be emptied, before being bagged.
Do NOT put these items in your purple bag:

Sanitary products

Pet waste

Clinical waste*

Sanitary products, or pet waste should be double bagged and go in your black bags.

* If you need to dispose of clinical waste, please call Hywel Dda on 01267 227641 or email: Environment.team@wales.nhs.uk Clinical waste must never be placed in household waste bag.

Please put them out for collection in the same place you would leave your blue or black bags*. We will not collect bags from wheeled bins however you can place them in a smaller dustbin. Make sure the waste is bagged and tied. 

*If you use a shared bin area, we will be in touch to let you know where to leave your purple bags.

Please only use the purple bags provided, wheeled bins are not provided for children's nappy waste. You can put your bags into a dustbin (not wheeled bins) and place them out for collection. Make sure the waste is bagged and tied. 

We do not collect from privately-owned wheeled bins; your waste will be left uncollected, and you will have to remove it from the bin before we attempt to collect again.

We will send you a pack of purple bags when you apply for the service. You can request more bags online. It can take up to 10 working days for delivery so please order them in plenty of time.

Order more bags

There is no limit to the number of purple bags you put out for your hygiene and nappy waste collection.

No, if you have any kind of hygiene waste you will need to apply for our free hygiene/nappy waste collections. It’s quick and easy to apply. Once we've received your application your purple bags will be delivered within 10 working days.

Apply for hygiene collection

Collections take place between 7am and 3pm so you need to put your bags out before 7am and wait until after 3pm before reporting it to us.

Before you report it, check you have the correct collection day. If you haven’t put any bags out for 3 collections in a row, we will contact you to see if you still require the service.

Please tell us about any changes to your requirements, this can include taking a short break from the service.

Once you’ve reported a missed collection, please leave the waste out and we will call back as soon as we can.

Report a missed collection

If you haven’t put any bags out for 3  collections in a row, we will contact you to see if you still require the service. Please tell us about any changes to your requirements, this can include taking a short break from the service.

Tell us about a change

If you’re moving to a new house within Carmarthenshire, fill in our online form and we will arrange to collect your purple bags from your new address.

If you’re moving outside of the county, please let us know before you move so that we can cancel your collections.

Tell us about a change

You can cancel the service at any time or take a temporary break if you don’t need the service for a few weeks.

Cancel hygiene collection

By providing separate collections, we are able to divert this type of waste from landfill, and it will also help to increase our recycling rates.
We have achieved our previous targets, but more needs to be done if we are to meet Welsh Government’s 70% recycling target by 2025.

it is estimated that there is in excess of 1 million tonnes of absorbent hygiene products disposed of annually in the UK and Capel Hendre-based Natural UK has developed a process to recover the plastics and cellulose material that would previously have been sent to landfill.

The recovery process cleans and separates the plastics and cellulose fibres for re-use; the cellulose fibres being used for a variety of commercial purposes, including the production of fibre boards and acoustic panelling, and the plastics sent to secondary re-processors for recycling. A trial scheme is also underway where the cellulose fibres are being used to resurface roads.

If the information pack we sent to you doesn’t include an information leaflet about the new collection for glass bottles and jars, this means we won’t be introducing this new collection service to your home at this time.

When we’re able to collect these items from your home, we will contact you before this change takes place to tell you when this happening and how to use this service.

For now, please continue to take your glass bottles and jars to your local glass bank to be recycled, or if you have a communal glass collection point where you live, please continue to recycle your glass using this service.

If you run out of blue bags or food waste liners before we deliver your next year’s supply, check our outlets to find out from where you may collect these.

We’ve considered all the options available, and the most efficient and cost-effective way to deliver the improvements to our services means we must change some collection days.

You can sign up to receive email or text message reminders for your collection days. 

sign up for reminders

On average, almost half of the contents put in black bags are recyclable. By collecting your blue bags more often, and by collecting even more items to be recycled, such as glass, hygiene and nappy waste, you’ll have less non-recyclable waste to put out to be collected in your black bags. This means you should have fewer filled black bags to store until your next collection.

You may put out up to 3 black bags every 3 weeks. When buying black bags, please ensure they don’t exceed a 60-litre capacity.

For more information or to sign up for our free hygiene and nappy waste collections, visit our webpage.

Put all your food waste in your lockable food bin and put all your recyclable food packaging – such as plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays – in your blue bags, once rinsed and dried. We collect your food waste and blue bags weekly, which means there should be little waste in your black bags that’s likely to attract pests.

Using our separate hygiene and nappy waste collection service will also reduce smells by keeping these items out of your black bags. For more information or to sign up for our free hygiene and nappy waste collections, visit our webpage

If you need to get rid of any pet waste, please double-bag it before putting it in your black bags, which will further reduce smells.

You may also choose to store your filled black bags in a dustbin or wheeled bin, then put your black bags at your collection point before 6am on your collection day.

On average, almost half of the contents put in black bags are recyclable. By collecting your blue bags more often, and by collecting even more items to be recycled, such as glass, hygiene and nappy waste, you’ll have less non-recyclable waste to put out to be collected in your black bags.

For more information or to sign up for our free hygiene and nappy waste collections, visit our webpage.

For further information and guidance, visit our black bags webpage.

If you’re recycling all you can using your food waste bin, blue bags, and black box for glass bottles and jars (if this service applies to you), and you’re still unable to include your ash in your 3 black bag-limit, you may apply for ‘exemption stickers’ to put on additional black bags you’d like to put out to be collected.

apply for an exemption

If you do put ash in your black bags for us to collect, please ensure you fill your bags only a third full – so they’re not too heavy and unsafe for our crews to collect – and ensure the ash is cold.

By introducing weekly food waste and dry recycling collections, there should be enough room in your black bags for the remaining items that can’t be recycled.

Any additional waste should be taken to one of our recycling centres.

Fly-tipping is the dumping of household or trade waste on roads, in fields, in rivers, or on private land without permission. It is illegal.

There is no excuse for fly-tipping, and we believe most residents would choose not to negatively affect their local area in this way.

Items most commonly fly-tipped are bulky items or trade waste – neither of which are part of the recycling and waste collection services we provide to households.

If you need to get rid of large household items – such as beds, carpets, fridges, freezers and wardrobes – you may take these to your local recycling centre. We also provide a bulky waste collection that costs £25 for three items.

bulky items

Yes. All residents may only put out up to three black bags every three weeks, even if you usually place your waste in a communal area alongside other residents’ black bags.

In 2021, we issued a survey to consult all residents about the changes we planned to make to the recycling and non-recyclable waste collections services we provide to you.

4,034 respondents completed the survey.

If you need additional blue bags or food waste liners you may collect these from one of our outlets.

If you have additional glass bottles and jars to recycle that you can’t fit in your box, please either hold onto these until your next collection or take them to your local glass bank. Unfortunately, we’re unable to provide additional boxes.

If you need to report a damaged or broken box please complete the online form.

No, please only use the glass box provided.  Do not use your own storage container or old blue recycling box as these are not suitable for our collection vehicle and would not meet the safety standards required. You can use your own container to take any excess glass you may have to a recycling centre. 

If you have more blue bags than you need, please give them to family or friends that might need a further supply due to larger numbers in the household and therefore likely to have more items to recycle weekly or return them to your nearest Hwb.

Our garden waste collection service will remain as it is.

If you subscribe to this chargeable service, we’ll continue to collect your garden waste every 2 weeks between March and November, on your usual collection day.

garden waste

Our hygiene/nappy waste collection service will remain as it is.

If you have signed up for this free service, we’ll continue to collect your hygiene/nappy waste every 2 weeks on your usual collection day.

HYGIENE/NAPPY WASTE

You may get rid of any dog poo you pick up while out walking in any street litter bins.

You may also put any cat, dog or other pet waste, including used litter, in your black bags. Please double-bag it before putting it in your black bags mixed with other household waste.

If you would prefer to get rid of this waste more frequently, you may take it to your local recycling centre.

You may recycle any pet food waste putting it in your food waste bin.

If you need to get rid of any used tampons or sanitary towels, you may place these in a nappy bag or similar product then put them in your black bags, mixed with other household waste.

If you would prefer to get rid of this waste more frequently. you may take it to your local recycling centre.

If you can’t find answers to your questions on this page, or on our A-Z of recycling, you may contact one of our recycling advisors for further advice and support. Simply email us using the link below and we’ll get in touch.

contact us

If you’re unable to put your waste out for collection, please call us on 01267 234567
and we’ll discuss possible options for additional support with you.

If you already receive an assisted lift collection, this will continue.

Visit My Recycling Wales to find out what happens to your recycling and black bags once collected.

Please see our A-Z of what you can recycle and where in Carmarthenshire.

a-z of recycling

Please check and follow the advice on our missed collections page, before reporting that your waste has been left behind.

missed collections

The changes we’re making are major and need plenty of time to plan and carry out.

You told us during our consultation phase that you feel glass bottles and jars collections are needed, as well as dry recycling collections every week. We’d like to carry out these changes as quickly as possible, but to provide the most environmentally friendly, efficient and cost-effective service possible, other changes will take longer to put in place.

You may download Welsh Government’s ‘Beyond Recycling’ waste strategy on its website.

visit welsh government website

Your glass bottles and jars will be recycled to create new bottles and jars, or other glass items.

If you have additional glass bottles and jars to recycle that you can’t fit in your box, please either hold onto these until your next collection or take them to your local glass bank. Unfortunately, we’re unable to provide additional boxes, but we will increase the frequency of this new collection service to every week in 2024.

If you’ve overfilled your box, not emptied your bottles and jars, or your box contains wrong items, our crews will place a sticker on it asking you to correctly sort its contents in time for your next collection, or so that you may take it to your local glass bank.

We collect your black bags and your glass bottles and jars in separate vehicles, at different times between 6am and 2pm on your collection day. Please don’t report any missed collections until after 2pm and check our website for information about any disruptions to our collection services.

There are several factors that may have resulted in you not receiving your glass box.  There is a small proportion of households that would have received an information pack that doesn’t include an information leaflet about the new collection for glass bottles and jars, this means we won’t be introducing this new collection service to your home at this time.

When we’re able to collect these items from your home, we will contact you before this change takes place to tell you when this happening and how to use this service.

If you have received an information pack which includes a glass information leaflet, we have been delivering the boxes along with blue bags and food waste liners over the last few weeks, although some households are reporting non delivery.  If you have not received a delivery, please complete the online form.  If you have already completed a form, please do not resubmit as we are out delivering daily, and you should receive your delivery in the coming days.

These changes only relate to domestic waste collections. If you run a business, you will need to apply for a trade waste agreement. 

In Carmarthenshire all our food waste is now recycled by a process called anaerobic digestion. The food waste is converted into fertiliser and biogas which is used as an energy source. All food liners must be screened out and removed, as they cannot be processed with the food. Therefore, there is no longer a need for compostable liners, which are more expensive. By making this change, we can save even more money by joining with other local authorities on large scale purchasing contracts.

As part of our service change we have undertaken carbon impact modelling. This exercise indicates that the new collection methodology will result in the annual saving of in excess of 200 tonnes per annum of CO2 compared to the old service. Although there is additional vehicles and transport movements the net-benefit of increased recycling will have an overall positive impact on our carbon footprint. In addition, this change has enabled us to start our journey on the utilisation of electric vehicles for waste services. 

As we provide kerbside collections for glass to 96% of households across the county, and will increase this by the end of 2025, we are reducing our sites where there is no longer a need for them to make better use of resources. We are placing signage at each site before removal, and our webpage will be updated once each site is removed. This will be completed by April 2024, and you will then be able to look up the remaining sites on our bottle/recycling banks webpage. At some sites you can also recycle other items e.g. textiles and small electricals.

When we’re able to collect glass from your home, we will contact you before this change takes place to tell you when this is happening and how to use this service.

As we provide kerbside collections for glass to 96% of households across the county, and will increase this by the end of 2025, we are reducing our sites.  We are seeing very low volumes of glass at these sites following the kerbside glass introduction, which does not warrant the resource and cost of servicing as many sites as we currently have.

We have conducted an extensive review of each recycling site, taking many factors into consideration. This included how much glass was being recycled at the site compared to the year before, any health and safety issues at the location, how many other sites are in the area, as well as how many households in the surrounding area are now on kerbside glass collections. This helped us to identify the most appropriate sites for closure.

From January to the end of March 2024, sites will be removed and the remaining 20% will be focussed in areas of most need and usage.

We have introduced collections to 96% of households, but some homes are difficult to access with our glass collection vehicles, this may be because of their rural location or because they have a shared waste compound. We must review and make assessments on access and sometimes space available at each location before we can offer a service where possible. We aim to get as many households as possible onto glass collections by the end of 2025.

When we’re able to collect glass from your home, we will contact you before this change takes place to tell you when this happening and how to use this service.

For now, please continue to take your glass bottles and jars to your local glass bank to be recycled. We are reducing the number of sites, closures are taking place up to the end of March 2024, so please check our bottle/recycling banks webpage before you visit.

You should have received a letter with an information leaflet and a glass box if you are on the collections. If you are unsure or you have just moved in, enter your address at the bottom of this page. If your black bag information and calendar does not include glass collections, then your home is not currently receiving a collection.

When we’re able to collect glass from your home, we will contact you before this change takes place to tell you when this happening and how to use this service.

For now, please continue to take your glass bottles and jars to your local glass bank to be recycled. We are reducing the number of sites, closures are taking place up to the end of March 2024, so please check our bottle/recycling banks webpage before you visit.

Has the delivery date you were provided past? If so, please email us at:

ENVBSUHUB@carmarthenshire.gov.uk including your full name and address, along with all details of your order and we will investigate what has happened. If your delivery date has not yet passed then please wait until that date and if it is not received by the end of that day, then contact us as above.

Please note strictly one box per household is provided, if your box is damaged or lost then you can apply for another, though this is monitored, and you may be contacted if you order more than one in a six-month period.