New Separated Recycling service to launch in parts of Carmarthenshire in November 2026

Around one third of homes in Carmarthenshire will begin using a new ‘Separated Recycling’ collections service from November 2026, as Carmarthenshire County Council launches its first phase of changes to household recycling collections.

For most homes included in the first phase, the new service will begin on Monday 2 November 2026. The changes will mainly affect homes in the western parts of the county.

To support residents and collection crews through the transition, the service will be introduced in stages during November. A small number of homes included in the first phase will therefore start using the service later in the month.

Residents will receive a letter in October confirming their collection arrangements and the date they should begin using the new service. Residents should follow the date and collection information set out in their letter.

As part of the changes, from November, homes across the county may have different collection days, or a different collection week for their black bags. This applies whether they are changing to the new Separated Recycling service this year or staying on the current Mixed Recycling service. 

All residents are encouraged to sign up for free email or text message reminders for their recycling and waste collections.

 

Who is affected?

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

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.

 

Why is the service changing?

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

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

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

 

What is changing for homes moving to the new service?

Homes changing to the Separated Recycling service will sort their recycling into separate reusable sacks and bags. The Council will no longer collect recycling in single-use blue bags from these homes.

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

Homes changing to the new service will receive:

• a reusable red sack for metals, plastics and cartons
• a reusable orange sack for cardboard
• a reusable blue sack for paper
• a roll of red bags for plastic bags and wrapping
• a small reusable white sack for household batteries

The Council will deliver the new recycling sacks, along with an annual supply of food waste caddy liners, to homes changing to the new service during September and October 2026.

Residents can check the status of their sack delivery online here. The service will show whether sacks have been delivered to their home or whether deliveries are still taking place in their area. If deliveries in an area have been completed but a home has not received its sacks and bags, residents will be able to report a missed delivery.  

Food waste and recycling will continue to be collected every week. Glass bottles and jars will also be collected weekly. There will be 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.

As part of the changes, homes across the county may have different collection days, or a different collection week for their black bags. This may apply whether they are changing to the Separated Recycling service this year or remaining on the current Mixed Recycling service.

Please note: For a small number of homes, the change to collection days means there is a gap of more than three weeks between their last black bags collection on the current schedule and their first black bags collection on the new schedule. To make sure residents can continue putting out the same amount of non-recyclable waste during this change, we will provide a one-off extra collection between these two dates. The Council will write to affected residents separately to let them know the date of their extra collection.

 

What happens next?

In October 2026:

• Homes changing to the new service will receive a second letter confirming any changes to their collection days or week, a booklet explaining how to use the new service, a new collections calendar, and a quick guide showing what goes where.
• Homes staying on the current Mixed Recycling (blue bags) service will receive a second letter confirming any changes to their collection days or week, and a new collections calendar.
  

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.

 

The Council is committed to making the transition as smooth as possible and provide support to help residents adapt to the new service. 

Residents can sign up for free email or text message reminders for their recycling and waste collections, whichever service they use.

Residents are also encouraged to share the information with relatives, friends or neighbours who may rely on others for updates.

More information, including the postcode checker and frequently asked questions, is available here.

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 new service.”