Residents in Swansea will only be allowed to put up to three 70-litre bags of residual waste out for collection every fortnight from next Monday.
The introduction of a black bag limit, which comes into effect from April 7, has been adopted by Swansea council in order to reduce the amount of refuse going to landfill.
The local authority which claims residual waste disposal currently stands at 4 million a year in landfill costs operates in-house fortnightly refuse and weekly recycling kerbside collections, with collections of glass and metals in one green bag, paper and card in another green bag, as well as a separate pink bag for plastics.
But, while residents have been told to keep it to three, certain households with multiple occupants that produce large quantities of non-recyclable waste such as cat litter and nappies can apply for an exemption to the limit.
The measure follows a vote by council cabinet members in December 2013, after publication of a report warning that if Swansea fails to meet the 58% recycling target set out by Wales National Waste Strategy for 2016, it could lose its 4.87 million Sustainable Waste Management Grant (see letsrecycle.com story).
In 2012/13, Swansea achieved a combined composting and recycling rate of 48% – short of the 52% statutory target that Wales still managed to meet as whole (see letsrecycle.com story).
Promotion
Meanwhile, a leaflet informing residents of the changes published by the council reveals that collection crews will leave any excess black bags left out by households. Anyone who misses a black bag collection will be expected to take any additional bags to one of the citys household waste recycling centres.
It goes on to warn collections will be monitored, and any households putting out excess black bags will be contacted.
While the council has said it will not be issuing fines against those who break the rules straight away, it may take enforcement action as a last resort after all efforts have been made to encourage residents to recycle.
Commenting on the new rules, June Burtonshaw, cabinet member for Place, said: Ive no doubt almost everyone in Swansea knows about Keep it to 3. Now the challenge for everyone is to do all we can to make sure three is the maximum number of black bags we put out for collection every fortnight.
Other communities including Carmarthenshire and Monmouthshire have already introduced black bag limits and the changes have been working well so Im sure its achievable in Swansea too.
Frequency
The restriction is the latest measure adopted by a Welsh council to reduce its reliance on landfill, with Gwynedd and Cardiff councils currently consulting on whether to implement three-weekly and monthly residual waste collections respectively.
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The proposals have provoked debate between the Welsh Government and its English counterparts, after DCLG minister Brandon Lewis said Wales had enacted an official policy forcing local authorities to adopt fortnightly residual waste collections (see letsrecycle.com story).
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