Changes will come into force next year
New recycling rules are coming into force early next year.(Image: PA)
A planned shake-up of the recycling process in England next year will change in the way rubbish is collected with four bins for all homes. New Simpler Recycling rules under the Environment Act 2021 will roll out in 2026.
The changes come as part of a wider ambition by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to reach a goal of recycling 65% of municipal waste by 2035.
Local authorities across the country are required to implement standardized core recycling collections and weekly food recycling for households by March 31, 2026.
The categories of recycling will be separated into four distinct categories:
- Food and garden waste
- Paper and card
- Dry recyclable materials – plastic, metal, glass
- Non-recyclable waste, known as ‘residual waste’
Households across the country will have to separate paper and card from waste like metal and plastic and dispose of it in a new recycling bin.
Cardboard waste, like cereal boxes, for example, cannot be placed in a bin alongside rubbish like wine bottles or milk cartons under the new measures.
The new measures will also require councils to introduce weekly food waste collections for most homes.
More bins for each household could also be on the agenda, as the overhaul calls for increased separation in the household recycling process.
The government hopes that the simplified guidelines will help households to better understand what can and cannot be recycled.
The scheme is already in effect for UK businesses with 10 or more employees, while micro-businesses with fewer than 10 employees have until March 31, 2027.
The Simpler Recycling initiative will work in parallel with a new Deposit Return scheme, set to come into force in 2027.
People will be paid to recycle plastic and metal bottles and cans under a new bottle-return scheme.
Members of the public will pay a deposit on drinks bottles, which is then refunded when bottles are turned in for recycling.
The scheme has been in effect in Ireland since February 2024, and has been a success over its first sixteen months.
Over 1.6 billion containers were returned by July 2025 and the scheme has helped to significantly reduce the amount of littered containers in public places.