Rushcliffe Borough Council to launch kerbside glass recycling service in December

A borough council is set to roll out kerbside glass collections for residents later this year.

Rushcliffe Borough Council plan to roll out the new collection service from December 2025, under new Simpler Recycling legislation which will see all councils in Nottinghamshire will have the collection in place by March 2026

Residents will receive a new 180 litre grey bin with a purple lid that will be collected from their home every six weeks.

Collection dates for the new bin will be detailed on the new collection calendar the authority will distribute later in the year, and it will aim to collect them on same day as current grey bin collections.

Council leader Neil Clarke said: “This is a very welcome update for many residents who we know will very much appreciate being able to recycle glass at the kerbside.

“Thank you to everyone who already utilises our bring and recycle banks that has helped Rushcliffe have the best recycling rate in the county.

“Importantly, just like with the bring and recycle banks, this will help to ensure that the glass collected from this new service will continue to be made into new glass jars and items.”

Under the new kerbside system, all colours of glass can be put in one bin and will be sorted at the reprocessor, meaning the material can continue to be remanufactured into new glass bottles and jars.

Further work will be undertaken on the best collection options for communal bin stores and flat complexes where different containers for glass and other recyclables may be more appropriate.

Existing bring and recycle bank sites for glass and Tetra Pak items will also be reviewed, as they are expected to be less used once the kerbside system is rolled out. They currently collect around 2,500 tonnes of glass each year.

Portfolio holder for environment and safety, Rob Inglis, added: “We’re pleased glass will be collected from the kerbside in Rushcliffe from December.

“Under this new service, the glass collected can be mixed of any colour as there have been recent and significant improvements in separation technology, which now allows glass to be colour sorted at the reprocessor.

“The new separation technology is an important factor for Rushcliffe Borough Council in maintaining the success of our ‘bring to’ sites which provided separated and quality recycling material for manufacturing new glass vessels which other councils were not able to achieve from kerbside collections.

“As well as being a valuable resource, it also means glass can be kept separate and not contaminate paper and cardboard.

“A consistent Nottinghamshire wide waste system will mean we retain the existing single mixed blue recycling bin for most of your recyclables.

“Thank you for helping Rushcliffe already have the highest recycling rate in the county of nearly 50% each year. These new changes should provide a further opportunity for you to help us reach even closer to 60% by the time food waste collections are launched.”

From March 2026 as part of the national Simpler Recycling initiative, even more materials will be able to be recycled from a household’s recycling bin.

The expanded range of materials in a blue bin will include cans, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, tetra pak, and foil.

In 2027, the council also hopes to introduce a new collection service for soft plastics such as plastic bags and clingfilm, but until then they can continue to be disposed of in residents’ grey general waste bins.

A weekly kerbside food waste collection service is also set to be introduced in October 2027 by all district and borough councils in Nottinghamshire.