Nottinghamshire County Council will consider a far-reaching programme of waste and recycling reforms next week, as national changes to packaging, food waste and household recycling begin to reshape how every home in the county will sort and dispose of rubbish over the next two years.
A detailed report going before the Place Select Committee on 8 December confirms that the Government’s new Collections and Packaging Reforms will significantly expand the range of materials that district and borough councils must collect from households and will place new responsibilities and costs on the County Council as the Waste Disposal Authority. The reforms will be phased in between 2026 and 2027 and represent the biggest shake-up of waste services since co-mingled recycling was introduced across Nottinghamshire in 2008.
The report explains that the changes stem from long-standing national policy, including the 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy and the Environment Act 2021, which aim to reduce waste, increase recycling rates across the country, and achieve a national target of recycling 65% of municipal waste by 2035.
For Nottinghamshire, the reforms come at a time when the contents of household bins have been shifting for many years. When the county’s co-mingled system began in 2008, mixed paper dominated the recycling stream. Today, cardboard and plastics have become the largest components, and this trend is expected to continue sharply into the next decade. The Mansfield Materials Recovery Facility, which separates and sorts the county’s recycling, is now handling a very different mix of materials than it was originally designed for, and the report warns that without investment the facility will struggle to meet future requirements.
From March 2026, households will be required to recycle additional materials including cartons, plastic pots, tubs, trays and aluminium foil trays. A further change will take effect in March 2027, when all soft plastics such as films, wrappers, pouches and carrier bags must also be collected for recycling.
The simplest way for residents to comply will be to place these new materials into the existing recycling bin. However, soft plastics pose a major technical challenge because the Mansfield sorting facility does not currently have the ability to separate flexible films from the rest of the waste stream. One possible solution being explored is the use of a dedicated “survival bag” for soft plastics placed inside the bin so that these materials can be removed manually before mechanical processing. The council is still working with Veolia to determine whether this is feasible and what investment will be required.
Upgrading the sorting facility is expected to cost around £5 million, with ongoing increased processing costs as new materials enter the system. If the upgrades are not completed, the council risks falling out of compliance with national rules and could miss out on significant Government funding earmarked for the reforms. The authority is guaranteed more than £7 million of support in 2025–26, with further funding expected in subsequent years, although contributions are expected to reduce over time as packaging makers switch to more sustainable materials.
One of the most visible changes for households will be the introduction of separate weekly food waste collections by October 2027. The district and borough councils will be responsible for collecting food waste from every home, with central Government covering the cost of new bins, caddies and vehicles. At present, Nottinghamshire sends around 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes of food waste to its residual waste stream each year. Under the new system, this material will be diverted to anaerobic digestion facilities that turn food waste into renewable energy and fertiliser. The County Council is in discussion with Veolia to secure short-term capacity while exploring the possibility of a joint long-term facility with neighbouring authorities. Some councils plan to run trial food waste collections from autumn 2026 to prepare residents for the new system.
Two major national reforms will also change how recyclables flow through the county’s systems. The Government plans to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme in October 2027. Shoppers will pay a refundable deposit when they buy drinks in plastic or aluminium containers and reclaim it by returning the empties to designated points. This is intended to reduce litter and boost recycling but could mean fewer valuable materials, such as aluminium cans and plastic bottles, reaching kerbside recycling collections.
Packaging producers will also become responsible for covering the full net cost of managing the packaging waste they create, through the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme. Payments will be based on the environmental impact of different packaging types, rewarding companies that use recyclable materials. These new funding streams are intended to support improvements to local waste collection and disposal systems.
Another significant challenge highlighted in the report is the introduction of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to energy-from-waste plants from 2028. These facilities, which burn non-recyclable household waste to generate energy, will have to buy carbon credits or invest in carbon capture technology to offset the carbon released during incineration. Nottinghamshire currently sends around 58% of its household waste to energy recovery. If half of this material is classed as fossil-based and carbon prices remain high, the report warns that disposal costs could increase by as much as £7 million per year. Reducing the amount of plastic and food waste in the residual waste stream is therefore the most effective way to limit future carbon costs.
The picture is further complicated by the ongoing discussions around Local Government Reorganisation. Any future move to a unitary authority system would require complex negotiations over waste contracts, which currently include exclusivity clauses. The report notes, however, that a unitary structure could streamline waste services across the county and eliminate some current inconsistencies between districts.
For residents, the reforms will mean changes to what goes into the recycling bin, the introduction of food waste collections for every home, clearer national recycling labels on packaging, and the rollout of a separate return route for bottles and cans under the Deposit Return Scheme. The County Council says it will continue to work with district and borough councils on joint communications campaigns so residents are fully informed as the new system takes shape.
Nottinghamshire already achieves very high levels of landfill diversion, with only around 1% of household waste going to landfill. However, its recycling rate sits at roughly 41%, and the reforms are expected to drive significant improvements over the next decade. The Place Select Committee will be invited to note the reforms and comment on progress ahead of further decisions next year.