Soft Plastics Recycling 

What should I do?

Between 12 March and 13 April, we will deliver a roll of blue sacks and a leaflet to homes in Barry and the rural Vale.
 
If you haven’t received your roll of blue sacks by 13 April, we will add a link to a form on this page so you can let us know. Once your roll arrives, you can start using the service.

The leaflet explains how you should present your soft plastics at the kerbside:

1. place empty plastic bags and wrapping items in a blue sack
2. once filled, tie your sack securely with a double knot to prevent its contents from escaping
3. place your sack inside your blue plastic and metals recycling bag

Please place items loosely inside your sacks- don’t put one item inside another, as this makes it difficult to sort your items when they’re being processed for recycling.

What items should I put in my sacks?

Yes please

• Plastic bags, including carrier bags, pasta bags, pet food bags and parcel bags
• Crisp and nut packets
• Biscuit packets and chocolate / sweet wrappers
• Films, such as ready meal lids
• Plastic labels and wrapping from drinks bottles
• Frozen food bags
• Cereal box liners

No thank you

• Cling film
• Pouches or sachets such as microwavable rice or sharing bags of sweets
• Plastic netting for fruit 
• Polystyrene or foam
• Plastic straws and cutlery
• Yogurt pot / cream pot lids
• Blister packs 
• Disposable gloves or masks

Why this matters

Recycling your plastic bags and wrapping helps us reduce our reliance on new materials, cut carbon emissions and keep more resources in use for longer. It also supports our commitment to Project Zero and ensures the Vale continues to be one of the top recycling areas in Wales. 

FAQs

• What is the soft plastics collection service?  

  Residents in the Vale of Glamorgan already recycle 70% of their waste, but we want to help you recycle even more. 

   

   

  This is now a permanent weekly collection service for plastic bags and wrapping from all Vale households, starting 13 April 2026. It follows a successful trial with 16,000 homes across the Eastern Vale.

   

  The items we collect from you will be recycled into new products, such as Bags for Life and bin bags. This will reduce our reliance on new or ‘virgin’ materials to create single-use plastic products like these and enable us to recycle more of our waste from home.

• May I put other types of plastic in the sacks? 

  No. Please continue to put ‘rigid’ plastics – like bottles, pots, tubs and trays – in your existing reusable blue bag for your mixed metals, plastics and cartons, after giving them a quick rinse.

   

  -These include:  
  -Plastic cleaning product bottles, such as bleach bottles and trigger sprays 
  Plastic drinks bottles, such as milk, soft drink and water bottles 
  -Plastic food containers, such as yoghurt pots, butter and ice cream tubs, fruit punnets and cake trays  
   
  Soft plastics – like plastic bags and wrapping – must be recycled separately to ‘rigid’ plastics – like plastic bottles, pots tubs and trays. 

• Why have you provided single-use sacks for this service?   

  Plastic bags and wrapping can’t be recycled with other plastics we collect, like your bottles, pots, tubs and trays. The bag keeps them separate from other materials both during collection and when they are processed for recycling. 

   

  We can recycle the used sacks alongside your plastic bags and wrapping. 

• If it’s windy, how can I stop my sacks from blowing away on my collection day?  

  If possible, place your sack inside your blue bag for mixed metals, plastics and cartons on your usual collection day and ensure the flap is secured with the velcro at the front of the bag. Please also remember to tie your sacks securely with a double knot to prevent their contents from escaping.

• What if I run out of blue sacks?    

  Blue sacks are available to collect from libraries and the Civic Offices in Barry. If you can't get out to collec them yourself, please contact us to request more.

• What should I do if my blue sack is not collected?  

   We might not collect your sack for one or more of the following reasons:  
  -it contains incorrect items 
  -it isn’t securely tied  
  -the items inside contain food or liquid 

   

  If we’ve not collected your sack, check the items you put in it using the list in the leaflet we delivered with your sacks, then remove any incorrect items.  
   
  Make sure you tie your sack securely with a double knot. 
   
  If any items contain food or liquid, please give them a rinse then put your sack out on your next collection day. 

• Where will the soft plastics go?  

   WRAP ran a tendering process to find the right recycler for the soft plastics trial, and Jayplas was selected. As one of the UK’s largest independent plastic recyclers and packaging manufacturers, they have facilities across the country and are currently building a new site in South Wales. To learn more about their recycling process, visit their website: https://jayplas.com/.