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Caerphilly County Borough Council’s bid to tackle recycling contamination

Posted on : 13 Oct 2023

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s bid to tackle recycling contamination
Caerphilly County Borough Council are on a mission to boost recycling rates and this week Cabinet will be presented with a report setting out steps to improve kerbside recycling quality and tackle contamination.
 
Members will be asked to consider the implementation of an enhanced education and engagement process which incorporates: letters, home visits and, in a small number of cases, the option to serve legal notice on persistent offenders of recycling contamination.
 
The borough’s current method of collecting recyclable material at kerbside includes a brown wheeled bin for all mixed dry recycling. Whilst this method results in the capture of significant dry recycling tonnage, the nature of the containers provided result in a minority of residents placing inappropriate waste into their recycling bin.
 
One contaminated bin can put the whole load at risk of being rejected. This has a negative effect on the environment and the Local Authority’s recycling rates.
 
Local authorities are required to meet strict Welsh Government recycling targets and Caerphilly is working hard to ensure it reaches the forthcoming target of 70%, as well as even higher rates announced for the coming years.
 
Cllr Chris Morgan, Cabinet Member for Waste, Leisure & Green spaces said: “Caerphilly County Borough, like the rest of the world, is facing a global climate crisis so we all need to do more to lead cleaner, greener lifestyles and it is clear that recycling is a key element in this collective effort.
 
“Whilst we appreciate that most of our residents are already working with us to recycle correctly every week, there is a small minority who use the design of our brown wheeled bin to knowingly dispose of non-recyclable materials.
 
“This aim of this new process is to ensure that the work of those residents who are consistently doing the right thing does not go to waste.”
 
The report will be considered at Cabinet on Wednesday 18th October 2023 and can be viewed here. 

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