Waste and Recycling

Recycling in Northumberland

From April 2026, the Government has introduced new Recycling rules across England. These rules mean all councils must collect the same set of recycling materials from all households. NCC is working to introduce these changes as soon as possible. Click on this link to find out more.

Published: 25 October 2026

Recycling in Northumberland From April 2026, the Government has introduced new Recycling rules across England. These rules mean all councils must collect the same set of recycling materials from all households. Northumberland County Council (NCC) is working to introduce these changes as soon as possible. What’s changing nationally? Under the new rules, councils must collect a wider range of materials for recycling. This expanded range of materials includes the following that NCC don’t currently collect: plastic pots, tubs and trays glass bottles and jars food and drink cartons (e.g. Tetra Pak) flexible plastics such as plastic bags and wrapping (by March 2027) NCC must also provide a separate weekly food waste collection. Why some councils won’t start on 1 April 2026 Many councils, including NCC, will not have the new services in place from day one because of: insufficient Government funding to fully deliver the changes national delays in the supply of new refuse vehicles the need for major upgrades to waste processing facilities complex planning, procurement and construction timescales How Northumberland is preparing NCC have been planning for Simpler Recycling for several years to create a cost-efficient, environmentally responsible system. In November 2025, Cabinet approved an investment of over £21 million to: provide new recycling bins upgrade reception and processing facilities make major improvements to our Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) prepare for the wider range of recycling materials These improvements must be completed before new services can start. When will the new dry recycling service start? Infrastructure upgrades are now progressing through procurement, planning and construction. NCC expect to begin phased introduction of the new dry recycling service in early 2027. Once final dates are confirmed, NCC will publish full details for residents. What the new system will look like General Waste: No change to the current general waste collection service. This will continue to be collected every two weeks. Recycling: To accommodate the expanded range of materials, collections will be made from 2 separate recycling bins: Bin 1: Fibre Recycling Bin (New bin) An additional 240litre wheeled bin with a black body and burgundy lid will be supplied to kerbside households for the separate collection of the following materials: paper card cardboard Bin 2: Mixed Recycling Bin (Existing bin repurposed) Your existing recycling bin will remain and be repurposed for the collection of the following materials: metal tins and cans plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays clean aluminium foil trays and tubes empty aerosol cans glass bottles and jars food and drink cartons flexible plastics (March 2027) Collection pattern: Households will continue to receive a general waste collection once per fortnight and have the fibre recycling bin emptied the following week and then the mixed recycling bin emptied on the following fortnight’s recycling collection day so that each recycling bin gets emptied once per month on an alternating 4-week cycle. Keeping residents informed These are significant, once in a generation changes to waste and recycling in Northumberland which also include food waste collections starting in SE Northumberland at a later date. NCC are developing a dedicated communications campaign to keep residents updated on: when changes will happen what the new services include which materials go in each bin when new bins will be delivered where to find further information More details will be shared with residents once final implementation dates are confirmed. For more information, please visit: https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/bins-recycling-waste/simpler-recycling-northumberland