17th July 2026
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Two leading local authority waste and environment bodies are pleased that government have listened to the call for a delay to the date for mandatory flexible plastics collection, as part of the roll out of Simpler Recycling.
The National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO) and the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) had expressed concern that local authorities urgently needed clarity from government on how flexible plastics would be reprocessed.
Whilst the two bodies welcome this delay, some authorities have already put plans in place to collect this material including adaptations to MRFS, on the understanding that their costs would be met under the Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Packaging. This will still need to be the case. Others will need to re-evaluate their proposals to comply with the requirements of Simpler Recycling and in particular the revised timescale for flexibles. However the delay does give more time for stable markets to be established.
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