How Bridgend County Borough recycles thousands of tonnes of waste

Thousands of tonnes of waste are recycled each year thanks to residents who are signed up to Bridgend County Borough Council’s purple bag scheme.

The service enables residents to recycle absorbent hygiene products (AHP), including children’s nappies, wipes, paper tissues, stoma bags, adult incontinence nappies and pads, absorbent bed sheets, plastic gloves and disposable aprons.

Once collected from the kerbside, bags are taken for processing at the Nappicycle plant in Ammanford, where all recyclable materials are recovered. The cellulose fibres from nappies are recycled into fibre boards and acoustic panelling, while the plastics are sent for further re-processing and recycling. Material is also collected for use as component in roadbuilding.

Since the scheme was introduced in Bridgend County Borough in 2017, a total of 5,505 tonnes of purple bag waste has been recycled.

We are very proud of the purple bag service which has proved popular with residents of Bridgend County Borough and, as a result, has seen thousands of tonnes of waste recycled.

I would encourage anyone who is not part of the scheme and needs to dispose of absorbent hygiene products, to sign up.

Janine Nightingale, Corporate Director for Communities

Purple bags are used to help the council’s waste partners Kier to distinguish between different types of materials as they travel around the borough collecting recycling. By recycling these products, residents can make full use of the two-bag limit on residual waste.

Residents who use the service are reminded that purple bags are for AHP waste only – if they are seen to be contaminated with other types of household rubbish, crews will leave them at the kerbside. Feminine hygiene products should be placed in bin bags with other non-recyclable waste.

The service runs fortnightly and will be picked up on the same day as your non-recyclable collection. To register or to cancel the service, email recyclingandwaste@bridgend.gov.uk or choose the waste option when contacting the main switchboard.

If households don’t put out any bags on three consecutive occasions over a six-week period, it will be assumed they no longer need the collections. However, they can re-register.

Residents are also reminded to register for garden waste collections if they haven’t already. Collections started on Monday 14 March but residents can still sign up for the scheme by visiting  the Recycle for Bridgend website.

Garden waste is collected every two weeks and collections will run until 18 November 2022. Until the end of March 2023, costs are set at £41.01 per household, £36.73 for pensioners and additional sacks at £5.35.