Key Points
- Newport City Council has introduced a kerbside recycling service for soft plastics in November 2026 that will serve about 10,000 households.
- The service accepts items such as plastic carrier bags, crisp packets, bread bags, plastic wrapping, cereal liners, etc.
- The council will provide eligible households with clear plastic sacks and an information leaflet explaining how to properly use the service. The residents will need to put all the soft plastics in the clear sack, tie it up, and dispose of it in the red recycling bag.
- The council has promised that the residual households will be included in 2027.
- Newport Council is currently recycling almost 71 percent of its rubbish and soft plastics account for about 8 percent of what residents throw away.
- Cllr. Yvonne Forsey, cabinet member of Newport Council, said this service would make recycling of items such as crisp packets, plastic wrapping, and carrier bags much easier.
- The Welsh government informed that the collection of soft plastics will be included in its overall collection strategy and that it is working with councils to implement the service in 2027.
- Emma Hallett from WRAP Cymru stated that the development of the Newport service is “a positive step forward” since in 2027.
Newport (Wales Times) November 04, 2026 – Eligible households can place a range of soft plastics in the new clear sacks, including carrier bags, crisp and nut packets, biscuit packets, pasta and rice bags, bread bags, cereal box liners and frozen-food bags. uk/local/newport/newport-council/">Newport City Council states that soft plastics must be kept separate from rigid plastics such as bottles, pots, tubs and trays.
The council says households included in the first phase will receive a roll of clear sacks and a leaflet setting out what can and cannot be placed inside them. Residents are instructed to keep the plastics loose inside the sack, tie the full sack securely with a double knot, and place it inside their reusable red recycling bag on top of metals, plastics and cartons.
How will the rollout expand?
Newport City Council says the service will initially cover around 10,000 households before being extended to the rest of the city in 2027. The council has told residents who have not received sacks and a leaflet that their homes are not yet part of the scheme and that they should continue using existing collection points.
As reported by the South Wales Argus, a council spokesperson said: “If you haven’t received a roll of sacks and our information leaflet about the new service, that means we haven’t rolled it out to your home yet.” The spokesperson added that residents should continue taking plastic bags and wrapping to recycling collection points until kerbside collections begin in their area in 2027.
Why is Newport introducing the service?
The council aims to capture soft plastics that would otherwise be disposed of as residual waste. Newport already recycles around 71 per cent of the waste it collects, while the council estimates that soft plastics make up approximately 8 per cent of the contents of residents’ bins.
Cllr Yvonne Forsey, Newport City Council’s cabinet member for waste services, said: “The new service will make it easier for all of us to recycle things like crisp packets, carrier bags, plastic wrapping and cereal box liners – to name a few.” She said she believed Newport residents “want to go further” with recycling and expressed confidence that they would “play their part” in the scheme.
What does the Welsh Government say?
A Welsh Government spokesperson said Wales is ranked second globally and first in the UK for recycling, adding that its approach to plastic film has not changed. The spokesperson said separate collection of plastic film from households is already included in the government’s collections blueprint and that it is working with councils and industry to introduce plastic-film collections in 2027.
“This includes building the systems needed to process flexible plastics, keep materials in use and support green jobs in Wales,” the spokesperson said. Councils in Wales are expected to recycle 70 per cent of the waste they collect, and the Welsh Government has powers to issue fines for non-compliance.
What happens to the collected plastics?
Newport City Council says the soft plastics it collects will be turned into new products, including bags for life and bin bags. Emma Hallett, from waste-reduction charity WRAP Cymru, said the Newport service was “a positive step forward”.
As reported by the South Wales Argus, Ms Hallett said soft plastics are used “almost ubiquitously” in food packaging and that recycling options are “currently restricted to front-of-store collection points at larger retailers”. She added: “Next year this will change, and many millions of people will begin to receive collections at their kerbside.”
Ms Hallett said both demand for recycled soft plastics and the supply of collected material need to grow so that less plastic goes to landfill or incineration. She said the longer-term goal is to remove as much soft plastic as possible, including by selling more fresh fruit and vegetables loose.
What residents need to do
Residents in the first-phase areas should use the clear sacks only for accepted soft plastics, keep the contents loose, and avoid placing items inside other bags. Once full, the sack should be tied securely and placed in the red recycling bag for the usual collection day.
The council says residents who need more space in their red bag can order an additional one. Households outside the initial rollout should continue taking accepted soft plastics to specialist collection points, including those operated at larger supermarkets.
Background of the development
Soft plastics and plastic films have generally required separate handling from rigid plastic packaging because they can interfere with conventional recycling sorting processes. In Newport, residents have previously been directed to carrier-bag and polythene recycling points, particularly at larger supermarkets, where the on-pack recycling label indicates whether an item can be accepted.
The Welsh Government’s stated target for councils to incorporate soft plastics into their collections was 2025, according to reporting by the Caerphilly Observer and the South Wales Argus. The national rollout of household plastic-film collections is now planned for 2027, with producers due to become responsible for covering councils’ costs of providing soft-plastic recycling services from March 2027.
Prediction: How this affects Newport residents
For Newport households in the first phase, the service is likely to make soft-plastic recycling more convenient by removing the need for regular trips to supermarket collection points. Residents may also see a reduction in the amount of general waste they put out, given the council’s estimate that soft plastics account for about 8 per cent of bin contents.
For residents not yet included, practical arrangements will remain unchanged until 2027, meaning supermarket drop-off points will continue to be the main option. If the wider rollout proceeds as planned, Newport households should expect clear sacks, guidance leaflets and changes to how they prepare recycling during the coming year.
