The Joint Waste Disposal Board meeting included discussion of the re3 partnership's progress, communications, and flexible plastics recycling trial, as well as internal governance and information sharing. The board was also scheduled to discuss the partnership's financial management, strategy, and contract transition, but the public and press were excluded from these parts of the meeting.

Here's a breakdown of the topics that were scheduled to be discussed:

Flexible Plastics Recycling

The Joint Waste Disposal Board was scheduled to discuss the outcomes of the re3 FlexCollect trial and options available after the trial concludes. The FlexCollect project is a research trial, funded by the Flexible Plastic Fund, DEFRA¹ and UKRI², seeking to understand key factors relating to the collection, sorting, processing and transport of high-volume flexible plastics.

The report pack noted that Simpler Recycling guidelines mean that residents across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be able to recycle the same set of materials, including kerbside collections of flexible plastics by 31 March 2027.

The report pack included a recommendation for the board to approve the continuation of the flexible plastic service to the trial area in 2026/27, and to note the indicative costs associated with continued use of bags and comingled collection during a full roll-out from 2027/28. The report pack also recommended approval of the contractor's costs of £21,000 for technical drawings of the MRF³ so the table of costs can be finalised with capital costs.

Key lessons from the re3 area included:

• The importance of understanding the number of households present in an area and having an accurate list of addresses.
• The need for clear messaging on tying the bags.
• Households use an average of 0.23 bags per fortnight, equating to an average participation rate of 23%.
• The average bag weight was approximately 376g, but bag weights can vary considerably, indicating that many bags are not full.

The report pack stated that there are currently insufficient offtakers in the UK for all the flexible plastic that could be collected through Simpler Recycling, meaning that the cost of disposing of flexible plastics is expensive. It noted that most of the re3 collected material has been disposed of via a single offtaker at a cost of £650 per tonne, compared to a current average cost of £139.74 per tonne for EFW⁴.

DIY Waste Charges

The Joint Waste Disposal Board was scheduled to discuss a revised charging structure for non-household DIY waste at recycling centres.

While local authorities are required to accept household waste without charge, there is no obligation to accept non-household waste. The re3 councils have imposed a charge for receipt of rubble and hardcore, soil from landscaping activities, plasterboard and asbestos since 2016.

The report pack noted that re3 officers presented a proposed charging structure at the JWDB meeting in June 2025 that would help to offset some of the cost incurred by the councils in accepting non-household waste. It was recommended that the Partnership implement a standard price across most items in order to keep the implementation simple for residents and staff.

Following further consultation with the re3 Contractor, officers made the following amendments to the proposed charging structure:

• Removed any 'single items' that could potentially be small (e.g. a towel rail)
• Reviewed the units to ensure that each charge relates either to the whole unit (e.g. a bath or toilet), a 25L container or loose equivalent (e.g. for rubble and soil), or a 200cm x 75cm section (e.g. for decking and cladding).
• Removed any items which were hard to define (e.g. the oil tank)
• Removed items where it might be hard to assess if the item had arisen from a DIY activity (e.g. a wardrobe)

The report pack recommended that the charging structure be implemented on 1 December 2025, to allow time for the booking system to be updated, the new categories to be added to the payment mechanism and residents to familiarise themselves with the charging structure.

The government mandated 'free allowance' of up to 100 litres per visit (or one large item up to 2000mm x 750mm x 700mm) in up to four visits per four-week period would still apply, but would now cover a greater range of items.

To ensure that a trader cannot depose of DIY waste at a lower cost than householders, the price for wood deposited under the Recycling Centre trade waste scheme will be increased from £1.10 to £3.20 per 25L whilst the bagged general waste will increase from £1.60 to £3.20.

Zero Tolerance at Recycling Centres

The Joint Waste Disposal Board was scheduled to discuss measures to address physical abuse of staff at the Smallmead Recycling Centre.

The report pack noted that some measures had already been implemented, including the addition of 'zero tolerance' signage. It also noted that some other authorities have banned individuals from using the Recycling Centres, but that these measures had not previously been formally considered at the re3 Recycling Centres, because residents have a statutory right to be able to bring their household waste to the centres.

The report pack recommended that members agree for temporary bans to be issued, in cases of physical abuse, on such terms as the legal teams agree, and that members should request an update at the next meeting, setting out further detail.

Enhanced Public Information

The Joint Waste Disposal Board was scheduled to discuss proposals for the enhanced sharing of information on performance, for residents.

The report pack noted that waste management is a data rich service, and that sharing information relating to the performance of shared services could be instructive to residents. Examples of data that could be shared include:

• The usage of bottle bank sites
• The spatial source of bookings to the Recycling Centres
• Information on the levels of 'contamination' (non-recyclable items) within collected recycling

The report pack recommended that members approve the plan to publish key sources of information, and that members request the respective councils to liaise over a schedule for earlier reporting, seeking to establish mutually suitable conditions, for reporting and scrutiny across the partnership.

Other Matters

The Joint Waste Disposal Board was also scheduled to discuss:

• A re3Wear School Uniform Reuse Scheme, launched in July 2025 in partnership with First Days Children's Charity.
• A behavioural change communications campaign focused on increasing food waste recycling.
• A new 24/7 chatbot on the re3 website, providing residents with instant access to key information about recycling services and the Recycling Centres in Bracknell and Reading.
• The National Civic Amenity Site (NCAS) / Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) Conference, co-hosted by the re3 Partnership in Reading on 16 July 2025.
• The Annual Environmental Report for 2024–2025, showcasing a 93.6% landfill diversion rate and continued high performance across re3 services.
• Recycle Week, scheduled for 22nd - 28th September.
• Maintenance statistics for 2024/2025, which indicated that 25% of services had not been completed.
• Engineering works at the Longshot Lane Recycling Centre.