Newark and Sherwood District Council waiting for Environment Agency license ahead of kerbside glass recycling scheme roll-out

A council’s new kerbside glass recycling scheme is just one step away from being rolled out.

Newark and Sherwood District Council has explained it is now only waiting for the Environment Agency to grant it a license to operate the service, and will then be able to confirm a start date for collections.

The scheme was approved by the council following a public consultation in February 2023, which saw a positive response from 93% of respondents.

Residents were then given the opportunity to opt out of the service — or if living in an area covered by learning disability work placement charity Recycling Ollerton and Boughton, could opt into the scheme.

In November 2023 the council approved plans for a new glass recycling compound on the Newark Lorry Park site, to support the operation of the kerbside service.

A spokesperson at Newark and Sherwood District Council said, “We have been working really hard to get everything ready to roll out our kerbside glass recycling scheme which includes things such as purchasing vehicles and bins, recruiting and training staff, organising the collection rounds, building a glass collection transfer storage site as well as applying for all the appropriate licenses.

“We are nearly there with everything now and the final bits of the complex puzzle are falling into place. The last thing we need is the Environment Agency (EA) to grant its license which allows us to operate the service and, following our application a few months ago, we are waiting on that to be issued. We are in close contact with the EA and as soon as we have a date on when that license will be issued, we will then be a position to confirm what date residents will receive their bins and when collections will start.”

Currently, residents must collect glass at home and take it to bottle bank sites to be recycled.

In September 2023 it was set out that the kerbside scheme would see residents provided with new, smaller wheelie bins.

It was planned that collections would take place every eight weeks.