Changes to Recycling and Waste Collections

In 2018 we consulted with residents about the proposed changes to recycling and waste collections, the current waste and recycling model operated by the Council is not sustainable long-term.

Current-waste-and-recycling

There are three main reasons why we need to move from co-mingled recycling:

Quality - When co-mingled recycling is collected the materials are crushed together and often damaged. This makes it a lower quality product for recycling and therefore it is less likely to be recycled here in the UK. We currently pay a fee for the waste to be sorted and some of the plastic and cardboard products go as far as China and Indonesia before it gets recycled because of its poor quality.
Legal Duty - We have a legal duty to separate recycling. Co-mingled recycling does not comply with Welsh Government's Waste and Recycling Collections Blueprint. It is also an EU directive to collect source separated recycling.
Cost - It is more financially viable to collect source separated recycling because it provides a better quality product which is more likely to be bought here in the UK. In addition, by 2024/25 the Council needs to meet Welsh Governments new target of recycling 70% of waste. Failure to do so will result in fines. And the Welsh Government will only provide capital funding to those who collect source separated recycling. This funding will help us to make the changes we need to our recycling and waste fleet as well as provide containers that will facilitate separated recycling.

For more information on the reasons for this change please see the relevant Cabinet Reports: