More households in Royston and surrounding areas will be able to recycle plastic bags and wrapping as part of a trial expansion.
Around 5,500 households in the area will join the trial, which is already in force for approximately 2,200 households in Knebworth which started a pilot in October last year.
Some households in Sawbridgeworth in East Herts will also take part in the trial, with a plan that all households in North Herts and East Herts will be able to recycle their soft plastics along with their usual recycling collection next year, as part of the two councils' new joint waste contract which starts in May.
Participating households will receive blue bags to put all their plastic bags and wrapping in, including crisp packets, confectionary wrappers, plastic film and bubble wrap - however pet food pouches will not be accepted.
Households will also receive full details of the scheme, including exactly what can and cannot be collected, and how to present their blue bags on collection day - with a secure double knot and placed in their grey recycling bin, on top of other materials.
Sarah Kingsley, service director for place at North Herts Council, said: "We are so pleased to be expanding the initial pilot in Knebworth to Royston and the surrounding area, which is a total of nearly 8,000 households in North Herts.
"Although plastic bags and wrapping don’t weigh that much, they can take up lots of space in people’s bins and it’s such a shame for them not to be recycled.
"We all need to look at how we can produce less waste and increase recycling, to reduce what we send to landfill."
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Residents are asked not to put plastic bags and wrapping loose in the grey recycling bins, as this will be classed as contamination and your bin will not be emptied.
Plastics in the special blue bags will be sorted from other materials once they reach the council's recycling facility.
Anyone not in the trial areas can take their flexible/soft plastics to a supermarket collection point, which is currently the only way to recycle soft plastics.
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