Bin collection days could change in recycling shake-up

Nation.Cymru Staff

Households in a county could see their bin collection days change from November as the council introduces a new recycling system affecting around a third of homes in the county.

Around one third of homes in Carmarthenshire will begin using a new ‘Separated Recycling’ collections service from November 2026.

The new service, known as Separated Recycling, forms part of Welsh Government’s ‘Collections Blueprint’, and is designed to increase the amount of recycling collected and improve its quality to help increase recycling rates.

The service also allows residents to recycle more materials from home, including plastic bags and wrapping, and household batteries.

Councils that do not meet Welsh Government’s recycling targets could face significant fines, with potential consequences for council taxpayers.

Carmarthenshire will be the 19th local authority in Wales to make the transition to separated recycling collections, which were first introduced in Wales in the early 2000s.

Every home in the county received a letter during the summer confirming whether it would change to the new ‘Separated Recycling’ service this autumn or continue using the current Mixed Recycling (blue bags) service.

For most of the homes included in the first phase of Carmarthenshire County Council’s changes to household recycling collections, mainly in the western parts of the county, the new service will begin on Monday 2 November 2026.

As the new recycling service will be rolled out gradually throughout November, some households included in the first phase will begin using it later in the month.

Residents included in the first phase will receive a letter in October confirming their collection arrangements and the date they should begin using the new service, as well as a booklet explaining how to use the new service, a new collections calendar, and a guide showing what goes where.

They will also receive the new colour-coded recycling sacks, along with an annual supply of food waste caddy liners, and residents can check the status of their delivery online here.

The Council will write to homes that are staying on the current ‘Mixed Recycling’ service again before their home changes to the new ‘Separated Recycling’ service.

Between November 2026 and January 2027, the Council will deliver the usual annual supply of blue bags and food waste caddy liners to home that are not changing to the new service this year.

Households across the county could see their collection days change from November, including changes to which week their black bags are collected, and this could affect residents whether or not they are switching to the new recycling system.

Food waste and recycling, as well as glass bottles and jars, will continue to be collected every week, with no changes to garden waste collections, or hygiene and nappy waste collections.

The Council will continue to collect up to three black bags of non-recyclable waste every three weeks, however a small number of households will face a longer gap between black bag collections as the new schedules are introduced.

For households affected, the council will arrange a one-off extra collection and write to residents separately to confirm the date.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste and Infrastructure Services, Cllr Edward Thomas, said: “This is a significant change to the way many of our residents recycle at home, and we want to make the move to the new service as simple and straightforward as possible.

“We will be providing homes with their new recycling sacks and information before their new collections begin. It is important that residents look out for their letter in October, as this will confirm their start date and any changes to their collection day or week.

“By separating our recycling, we can improve the quality of the materials we collect, recycle more of our waste and help Carmarthenshire achieve its recycling targets. I would like to thank residents in advance for their support as we introduce the newservice.”

Residents can check whether their home is changing this year by using the Council’s online postcode checker.

All residents are encouraged to sign up for free email or text message reminders for their recyclingand waste collections. More information, including the postcode checker and frequently asked questions, is available here.

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