Overview
- Every household, including flats, must have separate collections for residual waste, food waste, paper and card, and other dry recyclables by 31 March 2026.
- Flexible plastic packaging and carrier bags are scheduled to join the plastics stream from 31 March 2027.
- Thirty-one councils have bespoke transitional arrangements that delay mandatory food waste collections because of long-term residual waste contracts.
- Defra has set exclusions, with councils not required to collect compostable‑labelled plastics in food waste, non-packaging glass, or certain paper and hygiene items.
- Officials say the Simpler Recycling baseline ends the postcode lottery of different local rules while allowing co-collection approaches that still meet the standard.