Swansea households set for major recycling shake‑up as council plans new containers and free garden waste sacks

A new report heading to Swansea Council’s Cabinet reveals plans to ditch the 10 million single‑use green sacks currently used every year for glass, cans, paper and card. In their place, households would receive hard plastic caddies for glass and cans, along with a resealable sack for paper and card — a move the council says will make recycling easier and cut down on waste.

If approved, the changes could start appearing on streets as early as May.

The report also confirms the council wants to scrap the £2.50 charge for garden waste sacks, making them free for residents in future — a move likely to prove popular ahead of the summer gardening season.

Behind the scenes, the council is also looking at expanding what can be collected from the kerbside. A trial of soft plastics recycling is already underway, covering around 20% of Swansea homes. But to roll it out city‑wide, upgrades are needed at the council’s Baling Plant, and funding bids have been submitted to the Welsh Government.

Other materials could soon join the list too, including small electricals and textiles. The council says this would help tackle the growing problem of items like vapes, which contain batteries and can spark fires when dumped in black bags.

The push comes as the council continues its “Keep recycling out” campaign, after sample checks found some black bags still contain up to 50% recyclable waste.

Cabinet Member for Community Cyril Anderson said most residents are doing their bit — but others need to step up.

“Overall, residents are doing a great job by using our kerbside recycling collection service. Many are recycling as much as they can and this is why we continue to meet the Welsh Government recycling target of 70%.

We also know there are households who need to do more instead of placing the majority of their household waste in black bags.”

He said the council’s focus is now on making the system easier, greener and better value.

“That is why we are looking at our own service and looking at ways to make it easier for residents, better for the environment and better value for money.

There is a need to develop our longer‑term Waste Strategy and that will happen in the future. In the short term, we are looking at a number of things that can be introduced that I hope will keep Swansea as one of the best performing councils in Wales in terms of recycling.”

The long‑term Waste Strategy was paused last year while the council dealt with day‑to‑day operational issues, but the new interim plans are expected to shape how Swansea handles household waste for years to come.

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Residents invited to sign up for garden waste collections

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2025/12/17/residents-invited-to-sign-up-for-garden-waste-collections/

Fire chiefs urge people not to burn waste in gardens

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2025/04/12/fire-chiefs-urge-people-not-to-burn-waste-in-gardens/

Council announces changes to garden waste collection in Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire Council have announced that starting this year, residents will no longer receive an invoice for the garden waste collection service and must subscribe annually instead. 

The council say the subscription period is now open, and residents can sign up online at the Council’s garden waste webpage or in person at one of the Council’s Hwbs in Ammanford, Carmarthen, or Llanelli.

The annual service charge for 2025 is £58.83 residents can choose to spread the cost through direct debit payments or if customers choose to pay in full a 10% is applied reducing the charge to £53.

Residents requiring multiple bins will receive a 10% discount on the service charge for these bins.

To avoid any interruption to service, residents are being asked to ensure their subscriptions are active before the service re-starts in March.

Cllr Edward Thomas, Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste, and Infrastructure Services said: “These updates to the garden waste collection service are an important step in improving efficiency and ensuring we can continue to deliver a high-quality service for our residents. By adapting to this new structure, we are also reinforcing our commitment to environmental sustainability, turning garden waste into valuable compost. We appreciate the community’s ongoing support in helping us create a greener, cleaner Carmarthenshire.”

The council say that specific collection days and weeks will be communicated via personalised collection calendars and existing customers will receive communication from the Council over the coming week.

(Lead image: Carmarthenshire Council)

#Carmarthenshire #CarmarthenshireCouncil #CllrEdwardThomas #gardenWaste #kerbsideCollection #Recycling

This winter, the Council will again be stopping the kerbside collection of garden waste between 2 December and 28 February. Kerbside garden waste collections will recommence at the beginning of March.

Cyril Anderson, Cabinet Member for Community, said: 

“We trialled the stopping of garden waste collections last year to look at the impact this might have on residents. A very small number of residents use the garden waste collection service during the winter – around 5% of Swansea households.

“There is always a big increase in the amount of household recycling placed out for collection during the Christmas period and also throughout January.

“This puts a lot of pressure on our collection crews because of the limited resources we have. It makes sense to stand down the garden waste collections during this time and use these teams to help ensure other recycling and waste collections are not disrupted.

“Our Recycling Centres will be open as normal throughout the winter and If residents do want to dispose of garden waste during this time, we will gladly assist them in disposing of any household waste they want to bring along.”

For more information about Swansea Recycling Centres, visit https://www.swansea.gov.uk/recyclingcentres

https://swanseabaynews.com/2024/11/03/no-kerbside-collections-for-garden-waste-as-swansea-residents-told-to-use-recycling-centres-this-winter/

#gardenWaste #Recycling #SwanseaCouncil