Sheffield City Council has sought approval from its Waste and Street Scene committee to consult with the public and stakeholders in August to gather feedback on current and future waste and recycling services.

This move comes as all councils across England, UK, are required to make recycling easier.

From 31 March 2026, councils across England will be required to recycle a wider range of materials, including plastic pots, tubs, trays, cartons, aluminium foil, and aerosols.

Plastic films will follow by 31 March 2027.

This initiative aims to make recycling more straightforward and consistent throughout the country and is a response to the Environment Act 2021.

To comply with the act, Sheffield City Council has sought approval from its Waste and Street Scene committee.

The consultation will target residents in both houses and flats, with the aim of improving services such as paper and card collection.

The feedback from this consultation, along with commercial discussions with Veolia and independent modelling by the Waste and Resources Action Programme, will contribute to a future report.

This report will recommend how Sheffield's waste and recycling services should evolve.

The committee is also considering new initiatives under the Environment Act such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) and a deposit return scheme (R, which are expected to reduce waste generation.

Under EPR for packaging, producers will soon be made accountable for the entire cost of managing their packaging waste.

Since 2023, producers have been reporting the amounts of various packaging materials they market, and from October 2025, they will pay fees based on the recyclability of these materials.

In addition, the DRS will add a redeemable deposit to the price of drink containers, thereby encouraging recycling.

Sheffield City Council Waste and Street Scene committee chair and councillor Joe Otten said: “In Sheffield, we currently collect higher than average glass yields, as well as cans and plastic bottles when compared with similar cities to Sheffield.

“According to our customer satisfaction surveys though, our paper and card recycling service does not provide enough capacity. If the committee approves the proposed consultation on our overall recycling service, we will test these results out by giving the whole city the opportunity to comment and then look at what the best options are for the future.”