Future changes to recycling and bin collections
Future changes 2026
We will be making some further changes to household bin collections making it easier for you to recycle more from home. Almost half of the items in black bags are recyclable, so there is still much more we can do to reduce our waste. By collecting even more items to recycle, you will have less non-recyclable waste to put out in your black bags
Thanks to your fantastic efforts, we achieved the Welsh Government’s statutory target of 64% in 2019/20, but we now need to meet the 70% recycling target for 2024/25, and potentially 80% by 2030. In order to do this, we need to change the way we collect your rubbish. We started this change In January 2023 when we introduced the collection of glass at kerbside and weekly recycling of blue bags.
In 2026, we will introduce:
- Separate weekly collections of glass, paper, cardboard, cans and plastic, textiles and household batteries
- Food waste will continue to be collected weekly
- Paid for garden waste collections and fortnightly nappy & hygiene collections on request.
- The 3 black bag limit will move to a 4-weekly collection.
Future changes 2026
We will be making some further changes to household bin collections making it easier for you to recycle more from home. Almost half of the items in black bags are recyclable, so there is still much more we can do to reduce our waste. By collecting even more items to recycle, you will have less non-recyclable waste to put out in your black bags
Thanks to your fantastic efforts, we achieved the Welsh Government’s statutory target of 64% in 2019/20, but we now need to meet the 70% recycling target for 2024/25, and potentially 80% by 2030. In order to do this, we need to change the way we collect your rubbish. We started this change In January 2023 when we introduced the collection of glass at kerbside and weekly recycling of blue bags.
In 2026, we will introduce:
- Separate weekly collections of glass, paper, cardboard, cans and plastic, textiles and household batteries
- Food waste will continue to be collected weekly
- Paid for garden waste collections and fortnightly nappy & hygiene collections on request.
- The 3 black bag limit will move to a 4-weekly collection.
Q & A
These FAQs provide further information about the changes we are making and we will continue to update them based on resident feedback and questions.
These changes will improve the councils carbon footprint, help us meet Welsh Government recycling targets and provide a more cost-effective service.
The changes are necessary in order to meet the increasing statutory recycling targets set by the Welsh Government and to meet the requirements of their “Collections Blueprint” which promotes the separate collection of waste materials at kerbside. This ensures high-quality, uncontaminated recyclables.
In 2026, we will implement the separate collection of waste materials at kerbside across the county. This method, reduces contamination and encourages residents to recycle more. This will improve our recycling rates and help us meet future targets.
By separating you waste into differing containers/sacks, the materials collected are less likely to be contaminated and can be more easily made into new products. We can also increase the range of materials we collect to include textiles, and household batteries.
These changes will improve the council’s carbon footprint, help us to meet Welsh Government recycling targets and provide a more cost-effective service.
The council will have vehicles with a range of compartments and our crews will place your sorted items into the correct compartments as they do their rounds.
These changes will be introduced at the same time as our current recycling fleet reaches the end of its life
By sorting the waste at kerbside, this will improve the quality of the materials we collect for recycling, which is better for the environment and will help us to recycle more.
Although placing all of your recycling into one bag is more convenient, this way of collecting recycling will not be possible in the future as we seek to produce higher grade materials. As our recycling targets increase and the volume of recycling collected increases across the country, the waste processors will concentrate on those local authorities whose materials are un-contaminated and better quality.
By asking households to separate their items into different containers, as more Welsh Authorities now do, contamination will be significantly reduced.
The council will provide all residents with waste containers for storing and presenting recyclable materials at the kerbside. These containers will be delivered shortly before the new service begins, which is planned for June 2026. We are looking to use woven polypropylene bags of varying sizes for the separate collection of paper, cardboard, plastic/cans and cartons.
Other Welsh authorities use a mix of polypropylene reusable sacks and/or boxes. The sacks are weighted to prevent them from being blown around during bad weather.
In 2023 you will have received an additional black box for your glass. You can continue to use your blue bags till 2026.
During 2025 we will deliver your new containers/boxes which will be sourced to be user-friendly for both our crews and residents. We are aware that some residents may have limited storage space and are working closely with WRAP Cymru, who have supported other Welsh authorities in transitioning to this collection method, and helped determine the most suitable containers.
More detail on hints and tips for storage of these containers will be provided when they are delivered.
We will be providing you with more household collection services than you currently get by increasing glass collections to weekly, the kerbside collection of textiles and household batteries and the continuing weekly collection of your other dry recyclable waste. Other services such as collections for children’s nappies, adult hygiene products, and green waste will continue to be collected every two weeks.
If using organic cat litter such as wood or paper based pellets, these can go into your home compost bin. Solids can be removed and placed in the black residual bags. Clay based cat litters can go directly into black residual bags.
If you collect dog waste while walking your dog, you can dispose of it in street litter bins. For dog or pet waste accumulated at home, you can place it in your residual (black) bag for kerbside collection.
If you exceed your three black bag limit, or find the bags are too heavy, these bags can be taken to any of our Household Waste Recycling Centres for disposal.
Alternatively, you can use pet waste digesters or wormeries at home for disposal. More information about these options is available online, and Carmarthenshire Council is exploring additional ways to support residents.
If preferred, you can place these items into a smaller nappy sack-type bag and then put them in your black bag with other non-recyclable household waste for your usual black bag collection. You may also store your black bags in a bin before placing them out for collection. You can present up to three black bags in a dustbin with a maximum capacity of 90L (not a wheelie bin) for collection if you prefer. For more frequent disposal, you can visit your local recycling centre.
Recycling materials are collected weekly to encourage higher participation and reduce contamination, ensuring that materials are kept clean and are more likely to be recycled effectively. The switch to weekly recycling collections, including the introduction of new streams like textiles and batteries, aims to support higher recycling rates.
By collecting even more items to be recycled you’ll have less non-recyclable waste to put out to be collected.
With weekly food and recycling collections and a fortnightly collection for children’s nappies and adult hygiene products, there will be sufficient space in black bags for non-recyclable waste.
Residents also have the option of using any of our four Household Waste Recycling Centres for disposal of excess black bags and other waste types not typically collected at kerbside.
Typically, fly-tipped items are bulky or trade waste, which are not collected from the kerbside. Bulky household items can often be taken to Waste and Recycling Centres free of charge, or a bulky waste collection can be arranged through our website or by contacting the Contact Centre at (01267) 234567.
Anyone found to be fly tipping will be prosecuted.
No, only waste in black residual bags will be collected.
If you prefer, you can place your black bags in a traditional dustbin for kerbside collection, but the dustbin should not exceed 90 liters in size to allow for manual emptying. Please ensure that no more than three black bags are placed in the bin.
There is no evidence to suggest that restricting the number of residual bags people can put out encourages them to put general waste in their recycling, particularly if recycled items are separated at kerbside. However, there is plenty of evidence that shows there is a lot of waste that could be recycled (including food) currently placed in Carmarthenshire’s residual bag waste.
Restricting the amount of residual bag waste that is collected encourages people to think about what they throw away and to recycle more of the things that should be recycled.
To prevent attracting vermin, use your lockable food waste caddy for all food waste and ensure it is put out for weekly collection. By placing food in your food caddy and not in the black bags and by utilising our hygiene waste and nappy service, your black bag should contain very few putrescibles to encourage vermin.
To prevent smells, use your lockable food waste caddy for all food waste and set it out for weekly collection.
If your household uses nappies or other incontinence products, you can sign up for a FREE fortnightly Absorbent Hygiene collection service. Additionally, bagging animal waste and placing it in the residual bag can help reduce smells.
We are collaborating with flat management agencies where available. For properties without such management, we will work directly with tenants to arrange suitable solutions. The approach will vary depending on the property type and accessibility.
There will be other options for specific eligible groups, for example a multi compartment sack, for single occupancy properties or flats.
Your recycling is making a BIG difference in Carmarthenshire. THANK YOU for continuing to do the right thing and for doing your bit for the environment, by sorting your waste and recycling what you can.
Q & A
These FAQs provide further information about the changes we are making and we will continue to update them based on resident feedback and questions.
These changes will improve the councils carbon footprint, help us meet Welsh Government recycling targets and provide a more cost-effective service.
The changes are necessary in order to meet the increasing statutory recycling targets set by the Welsh Government and to meet the requirements of their “Collections Blueprint” which promotes the separate collection of waste materials at kerbside. This ensures high-quality, uncontaminated recyclables.
In 2026, we will implement the separate collection of waste materials at kerbside across the county. This method, reduces contamination and encourages residents to recycle more. This will improve our recycling rates and help us meet future targets.
By separating you waste into differing containers/sacks, the materials collected are less likely to be contaminated and can be more easily made into new products. We can also increase the range of materials we collect to include textiles, and household batteries.
These changes will improve the council’s carbon footprint, help us to meet Welsh Government recycling targets and provide a more cost-effective service.
The council will have vehicles with a range of compartments and our crews will place your sorted items into the correct compartments as they do their rounds.
These changes will be introduced at the same time as our current recycling fleet reaches the end of its life
By sorting the waste at kerbside, this will improve the quality of the materials we collect for recycling, which is better for the environment and will help us to recycle more.
Although placing all of your recycling into one bag is more convenient, this way of collecting recycling will not be possible in the future as we seek to produce higher grade materials. As our recycling targets increase and the volume of recycling collected increases across the country, the waste processors will concentrate on those local authorities whose materials are un-contaminated and better quality.
By asking households to separate their items into different containers, as more Welsh Authorities now do, contamination will be significantly reduced.
The council will provide all residents with waste containers for storing and presenting recyclable materials at the kerbside. These containers will be delivered shortly before the new service begins, which is planned for June 2026. We are looking to use woven polypropylene bags of varying sizes for the separate collection of paper, cardboard, plastic/cans and cartons.
Other Welsh authorities use a mix of polypropylene reusable sacks and/or boxes. The sacks are weighted to prevent them from being blown around during bad weather.
In 2023 you will have received an additional black box for your glass. You can continue to use your blue bags till 2026.
During 2025 we will deliver your new containers/boxes which will be sourced to be user-friendly for both our crews and residents. We are aware that some residents may have limited storage space and are working closely with WRAP Cymru, who have supported other Welsh authorities in transitioning to this collection method, and helped determine the most suitable containers.
More detail on hints and tips for storage of these containers will be provided when they are delivered.
We will be providing you with more household collection services than you currently get by increasing glass collections to weekly, the kerbside collection of textiles and household batteries and the continuing weekly collection of your other dry recyclable waste. Other services such as collections for children’s nappies, adult hygiene products, and green waste will continue to be collected every two weeks.
If using organic cat litter such as wood or paper based pellets, these can go into your home compost bin. Solids can be removed and placed in the black residual bags. Clay based cat litters can go directly into black residual bags.
If you collect dog waste while walking your dog, you can dispose of it in street litter bins. For dog or pet waste accumulated at home, you can place it in your residual (black) bag for kerbside collection.
If you exceed your three black bag limit, or find the bags are too heavy, these bags can be taken to any of our Household Waste Recycling Centres for disposal.
Alternatively, you can use pet waste digesters or wormeries at home for disposal. More information about these options is available online, and Carmarthenshire Council is exploring additional ways to support residents.
If preferred, you can place these items into a smaller nappy sack-type bag and then put them in your black bag with other non-recyclable household waste for your usual black bag collection. You may also store your black bags in a bin before placing them out for collection. You can present up to three black bags in a dustbin with a maximum capacity of 90L (not a wheelie bin) for collection if you prefer. For more frequent disposal, you can visit your local recycling centre.
Recycling materials are collected weekly to encourage higher participation and reduce contamination, ensuring that materials are kept clean and are more likely to be recycled effectively. The switch to weekly recycling collections, including the introduction of new streams like textiles and batteries, aims to support higher recycling rates.
By collecting even more items to be recycled you’ll have less non-recyclable waste to put out to be collected.
With weekly food and recycling collections and a fortnightly collection for children’s nappies and adult hygiene products, there will be sufficient space in black bags for non-recyclable waste.
Residents also have the option of using any of our four Household Waste Recycling Centres for disposal of excess black bags and other waste types not typically collected at kerbside.
Typically, fly-tipped items are bulky or trade waste, which are not collected from the kerbside. Bulky household items can often be taken to Waste and Recycling Centres free of charge, or a bulky waste collection can be arranged through our website or by contacting the Contact Centre at (01267) 234567.
Anyone found to be fly tipping will be prosecuted.
No, only waste in black residual bags will be collected.
If you prefer, you can place your black bags in a traditional dustbin for kerbside collection, but the dustbin should not exceed 90 liters in size to allow for manual emptying. Please ensure that no more than three black bags are placed in the bin.
There is no evidence to suggest that restricting the number of residual bags people can put out encourages them to put general waste in their recycling, particularly if recycled items are separated at kerbside. However, there is plenty of evidence that shows there is a lot of waste that could be recycled (including food) currently placed in Carmarthenshire’s residual bag waste.
Restricting the amount of residual bag waste that is collected encourages people to think about what they throw away and to recycle more of the things that should be recycled.
To prevent attracting vermin, use your lockable food waste caddy for all food waste and ensure it is put out for weekly collection. By placing food in your food caddy and not in the black bags and by utilising our hygiene waste and nappy service, your black bag should contain very few putrescibles to encourage vermin.
To prevent smells, use your lockable food waste caddy for all food waste and set it out for weekly collection.
If your household uses nappies or other incontinence products, you can sign up for a FREE fortnightly Absorbent Hygiene collection service. Additionally, bagging animal waste and placing it in the residual bag can help reduce smells.
We are collaborating with flat management agencies where available. For properties without such management, we will work directly with tenants to arrange suitable solutions. The approach will vary depending on the property type and accessibility.
There will be other options for specific eligible groups, for example a multi compartment sack, for single occupancy properties or flats.
Your recycling is making a BIG difference in Carmarthenshire. THANK YOU for continuing to do the right thing and for doing your bit for the environment, by sorting your waste and recycling what you can.
