Flexible plastic collections are set to become an increasingly important part of household recycling, despite the mandatory implementation delays, they are still a huge talking point in the industry. The latest WRAP LA Portal figures for 2024 to 2025 give us an interesting indication of just how much material could be involved – and what this could mean for councils in terms of waste… and bags!
Currently, the UK average for flexible plastic collected at the kerbside is approximately 3kg per household.
Across 30,368,250 UK households in Wrap’a 23/24 data, applying that average equates to around 91,104,750kg of correctly identified and separated kerbside flexible plastic.
If one Flex Collect Bag can collect 0.4kg of flexible plastic, that would require an estimated minimum of 36.4 million full Flex Collect bags every year across the UK.
These figures represent current collection levels, before considering how volumes could develop as flexible plastic collections become more widely established.
England, Wales and Scotland
The figures become even more interesting when we look at individual nations.
England currently has the highest figures, decreasing from 5.2kg in 23/24 to 4.8kg per household in 24/25. Across 25,431,362 households in 23/24, that equates to approximately 122.1 million kg of flexible plastic and an estimated 48,828,215 flex collect bags to support.
Wales has seen its figure increase from 2.4kg in 23/24 to 2.6kg per household in 24/25. Across 1,481,456 homes in 23/24, that would represent approximately 3.8 million kg of flexible plastic and an estimated 1,540,714 flex collect bags to support.
Scotland has also increased, moving from 2.6kg in 23/24 to 3kg per household in 24/25. Across 2,654,770 households in 23/24, that equates to approximately 7.9 million kg of flexible plastic and an estimated 3,185,724 flex collect bags to support.
It’s time to also look beyond the potential waste figures and look at how many bags may be needed to capture the waste.
Preparing for flexible plastic collections
The WRAP’s LA Portal* figures provide a useful indication of the potential scale ahead. They also highlight why planning the practical collection infrastructure matters.
Cromwell has extensive experience supplying sacks, bags and liners to the local authority and waste management sectors, helping organisations capture and contain resources for recycling.
If your local authority is preparing for flexible plastic collections, reviewing its collection arrangements or simply wants to understand how Flex Collect Bags could perform in practice, get in touch with Cromwell to arrange a trial of Flex Collect Bags.
Put them through their paces in your own collection service and see how they could support your flexible plastic collection plans.
Telephone: 01977 686 868 Email: info@cromwellpolythene.co.uk
* The figures are approximate values, based on data from the WRAP LA Portal, specifically 23/24 and 24/25 research from participating councils across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
