New segregated recycling system implemented in Cardiff

A new way for people to recycle is being extended to include more homes in Cardiff from this week (14 July). Around 47,000 homes are already using the new segregated recycling system and now it is being extended even further.

The new system, known as the “sack sort” scheme, forces residents to separate their recyclables into different caddies. The council said this increases the quality of recycling and reduces the contamination rate of discarded recycling from 30% to 4% on average. For the latest Cardiff news, sign up to our newsletter here

Cardiff Council has been delivering the new containers to affected areas, along with a warning on how to use them correctly. Residents have been given a new blue caddy for glass bottles and jars; a red bag for metal, plastic and food and drink boxes; and a reusable blue bag for cardboard and paper.

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In February this year, the council introduced the new scheme across 37,000 properties in Cardiff following a trial that ran in 2022 and 2023, yielding positive results. The new system has been controversial since it was introduced, with people raising their concerns earlier this year.

It comes after photos were shared online showing separate recycling being mixed in a bin lorry. However, Cardiff Council said: “We use vehicles with two separate compartments for your recycling. Blue bag items go in one side of the vehicle and red bag items go in the other. We have a separate vehicle to collect glass recycling.”

If separate chamber vehicles were not available for any reason, as a contingency plan and to ensure collections still took place, the council could use a vehicle that collected recycling in one chamber and then that recycling was sorted back at the recycling centre, the local authority said. This did not change the quality of the recycling collected in the vehicle, they added.

The new phase of the rollout will begin on Sunday 14 July and green plastic recycling bags will no longer be collected from this date in the areas undergoing the change. Areas already using the scheme in Cardiff are: Pentyrch, Heath West, Radyr, Ely, Llandaff, Trowbridge, Gabalfa or Rhiwbina.

The areas that will now switch to the new system from July are: Caerau, Whitchurch, Heath East, Llandaff North, Adamsdown, Rumney, Lisvane, Penylan, Pontprennau, Tongwynlais and St Fagans. Residents living in flats will not need to switch to the system as trails will be set up to develop a recycling system for flats and apartments.