Recycling bags 'falling apart at the seams'

Some red recycling bags handed out by North Somerset council are "falling apart"

A council has admitted that by trying to improve its recycling bags, they had "made it worse" after people reported them falling apart.

North Somerset Council was now in contact with its supplier after some of the bags began "falling apart at the seams."

Council cabinet member for planning and environment Annemieke Waite told a full council meeting on 11 November that the red bags ordered for the trial of the scheme last November were fine and had remained in "perfect condition".

But after handing them out to residents, she said they found there was "a distinct problem with them".

"Some of the red bags are fading and failing," she said. "They are literally falling apart at the seams. We are not happy at all."

The council has now sent a team around to check what percentage of the bags are falling apart, as part of the council's agreement with its supplier.

Holes are appearing in some of the bags

"This is a very reputable firm. There are only two firms in the UK that do the bags that we are using and they are being used by so many different councils," Ms Waite said.

"We know that we are not the only council that has a problem."

Chair of the council Clare Hunt added: "I know by trying to improve something we seem to have made things a little bit worse."

The red bags for plastic and metal recycling were introduced to 6,000 households in some areas in November 2024 on a trial basis.

From the end of March this year they were rolled out to all households across North Somerset.

The bags were introduced to make recycling easier to sort with more space, which also helps improve the value of the recycling North Somerset collects, which is sold to offset the cost of waste collections.