From 9 November 2015 we won’t be accepting plastic carrier bags in your mixed recycling. This comes hot on the heels of government changes requiring larger shops to charge 5p for all single-use carrier bags – a move designed to reduce the use of plastic bags and the litter they cause.

So if you have plastic bags you’re about to throw away, please consider:

• re-using them on your next shopping trip

• using them as waste bin liners / sacks

• using them to contain pet waste

• recycling them on your next trip to the supermarket (most supermarkets have a carrier bag recycling point in-store)

As a last resort, place them in your green refuse bin. Please use re-useable carrier bags whenever possible.

What can I recycle?

Look out for stickers and bin hangers on your mixed recycling bin in the next few weeks. These will remind you that we don’t want plastic bags in the recycling in the future and will also remind you about all the things you can recycle.

Don’t forget – you can also check all the things you can recycle, including plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, on our website.