North Herts council to expand its plastic bags and wrapping recycling trial

Agreed by the council’s cabinet on 19 March, the scheme will be expanded to over 6,000 homes throughout North Hertfordshire.

Since November last year, Knebworth residents have been filling up dedicated blue bags, delivered by the council, with plastic bags and wrapping, including confectionery wrappers, crisp packets, foil-lined packaging, plastic film and bubble wrap. The blue bags then go into their blue paper box.

Around 2,200 properties are in the initial Knebworth trial, with 6,250 properties joining in the expansion from July, meaning around 8,500 properties will be involved in total.

The council has said that anyone not in the original trial or new expansion can take their plastic bags and wrapping to a local supermarket collection point.

Cllr Amy Allen, North Herts council’s executive member for recycling and waste, said: “It’s been great to see the blue bags lining the streets of Knebworth, and it’s fantastic that we are now able to expand it to other areas in the district.

“The exact area for the expansion has not yet been finalised but is unlikely to fit neatly into geographic ward boundaries, as that’s not how our collection rounds work.”

Cllr Tom Tyson, North Herts Council’s deputy executive member for recycling and waste, added: “The separate collection of plastic bags and wrapping – whether you’re in the Knebworth trial, the new expansion, or taking them to your local supermarket – has a dramatic impact on what’s left in a non-recyclable (purple) bin, and therefore what gets sent to landfill.”

North Herts Council has been chosen to take part in this fully funded project to test the collection of plastic bags and wrapping at the kerbside to inform government and industry on how plastic bags and wrapping should be added to existing household collection services.

The council has said that participating households in the new expansion area will receive full details of the scheme, including exactly what can and can’t be collected and how bags should be presented on their usual collection day.

The council hopes to expand to the whole district of North Herts as part of our new waste contract in 2025.

The trial is part of a larger £2.9m Flexible Plastic Fund (FPF) ‘FlexCollect’ project, which is voluntarily funded by the FPF, Defra, UK Research & Innovation’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK and Zero Waste Scotland.