THOUSANDS of residents will be part of a major pilot project to recycle plastic bags and wrapping.
About 6,500 homes in the Maldon district will be included in a new recycling scheme after Maldon District Council was chosen to take part.
Plastics including plastic bags, confectionary wrappers, foil-lined packaging, plastic film, bubble wrap and pet food pouches will be collected as part of normal recycling collections.
A range of family sizes will be included to take part in the scheme.
This is the first year of a three-year trial which, if successful, will be expanded in October 2023.
It is expected to be available to all households in the district by the end of 2024.
The trial hopes to make it more convenient for households to recycle packaging.
In 2020, plastic bags and wrapping represented 22 per cent of all UK consumer plastic packaging, but only eight per cent was recycled.
The option to recycle plastic bags and wrapping is currently only available at supermarket collection points.
The trial is part of the Flexible Plastic Fund FlexCollect - a £2.9million pilot to collect and recycle flexible plastic packaging from households in the UK.
Maldon District Council leader Penny Channer said: “I am extremely pleased that our district has been chosen to be part of this trial, and the only authority in Essex to be chosen so far.
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“This trial is another step towards making the district more environmentally sustainable and reducing our carbon footprint through the reduction of plastics going to landfill.
“While this is only a trial at the moment, I look forward to seeing this scheme rolled out to all residents by the end of 2024.
“I would like to thank officers in our waste services team at Maldon District Council, our waste collection contractor Suez UK and the Waste and Resources Action Programme for their work in bringing this exciting scheme to the Maldon district.”
For more information visit recyclenow.com/plastic-wrapping.
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