North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) is set to expand its trial of plastic bags and wrapping recycling collections to a further 6,422 households near Ashby.

The collections were rolled out to more than 6,500 households in the district in March as part of the national Flexible Plastic Fund 'FlexCollect' project. 

Since then, over eight tonnes of plastic bags and wrapping has been collected and recycled.

The trial is being expanded from Friday, September 20, to include households in Acresford, Appleby Magna, Donisthorpe, Measham, Normanton Le Heath, Oakthorpe and parts of Moira and Packington. 

It will also be expanded to all households on the council's rural collection round.

Flexible plastic collection bags will be put out with other recycling

The trial asks residents to fill purple collection bags with plastic bags and wrapping to be presented for collection alongside their usual recycling containers.

 Items that can be recycled in the purple bags include:

• Any kind of plastic carrier bag
• Fruit and vegetable wrapping
• Bread bags
• Cereal packets
• Sweet wrappers
• Biscuit wrappers
• Crisp packets
• Coffee bags
• Magazine packets
• Film lids from ready meals
• Plastic sleeves from bottles and jars
• Pet and baby food pouches
• Bubble wrap and cling film.

Households on the expanded trial will receive a leaflet explaining the collections by post from today (Thursday). 

Two packs of purple bags and more detailed instructions will then be delivered from Monday, September 9.

By 2027 the government will require all councils to collect the packaging at the kerbside.

The trial is part of a larger £2.9 million Flexible Plastic Fund 'FlexCollect' project, which involves nine local authorities across England, and aims to inform government and industry on how plastic bags and wrapping should be added to existing recycling collection services. 

More information about the trial in North West Leicestershire is available HERE and HERE.

Councillor Michael Wyatt, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Community and Climate Change at NWLDC, said: "I'm really pleased that we're expanding this trial to so many more households.

Councillor Michael Wyatt, Portfolio Holder for Community and Climate Change at NWLDC with the purple bags, which will be used by trial households to recycle flexible plastic

 "The expanded trial will enable us to build on the success of the first phase. It will also add to what we've already learned about these collections across the district's towns, villages and rural areas.

 "The system has been designed to be as simple as possible so that bags and wrappers can be put out for recycling alongside red boxes and blue bags.

 "This small change for households will make a huge difference to the country's plastic bags and wrapping recycling rate when it rolls out nationally by 2027."