Denbighshire homes to take part in soft plastics trial

About 4,500 homes have been invited to take part in the trial, with participating areas including Denbigh, Prestatyn, Rhyl, Rhuddlan, Corwen, Llangollen and Efenechtyd.

The trial will begin on Monday, September 14, and will look at the best way to collect and recycle plastic bags and wrapping.

It is being carried out in preparation for forthcoming changes to recycling requirements from the Welsh Government.

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A statement from Denbighshire County Council said: "The residents we’ve invited live in a mix of housing types and areas so that we’re able to get a good and fair understanding of how different homes will use the service."

The council added: "If your home has been selected to take part in the trial, we’ll deliver a leaflet to your home explaining how it works between Monday, September 7 and Friday, September 11."

The last collection in the trial is on Friday, December 4.

Options regarding collecting future soft plastics will be considered once the trial has been reviewed, and any future changes will be communicated to residents at the appropriate time.

Denbighshire County Council’s Community Scrutiny Committee is set to discuss a review of Waste and Recycling Container charges on September 3 and make recommendations. This follows a notice of motion raised in May at Full Council.

Following a review of current arrangements and subsequent financial costs, including how the the system could be improved to introducing universal free provision, it has been recommended that charges are retained, but that the scope of the free allocation is expanded to include those on low incomes.

The proposed policy revision includes:

• Implementing a free customer exchange process at Household Waste Recycling Centres for blue bags and food caddies only
• Retaining charges for all items if customers require items to be delivered to their door
• Expand the free single item per year for any recycling container to those on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS). The Troliboc component black boxes are each considered a single item.

Denbighshire County Council is on target to meet the statutory 70 per cent recycling target in the near term, with recycling rates said to have improved "year on year" since the introduction of the new system in June 2024.