The two sides appear to be competing for recyclable material from households in the university and market town, after community-sector group Ceredigion Recycling Association decided to continue their scheme when the council decided to replace it.
Ceredigion Recycling Association originally began an eight-month trial kerbside recycling service for the town in July 2004.
 Local councillor Hag Harris puts out his kerbside recycling bag for the council-run scheme competing with community recyclers |
However, the county council withdrew its support for the scheme earlier this year, deciding an in-house service running county-wide would be more cost effective in Lampeter.
The council's 'Recycle in the Bag' scheme was rolled out to over 70% of the county in January, including 1,000 homes in Lampeter, but the community group has decided to persist with its scheme – which it says is proving financially stable.
This has set up a territorial rivalry that both sides have agreed will prove “unsustainable” in the long term.
The county of Ceredigion is one of the five “exemplar” councils in Wales, given extra funding to help show other Welsh authorities the way in terms of recycling. Ceredigion is currently achieving recycling rates for municipal waste of 32%.
CRA
Ceredigion Recycling Association is claiming it has been commissioned by the Welsh Assembly to continue providing its kerbside scheme through a 1.5 million EU grant secured through the Assembly.
It is hoping to persuade householders to continue with its weekly source-separated collection scheme, which uses kerbside boxes for collections, so that it can sell material on the open market.
CRA member Rif Winfield said: “We were commissioned to provide this service by the Assembly, and it is still our aim to provide that in the county of Ceredigion.
“We don't want to be drawn into a situation where there seems to be a conflict with the council, we are merely providing a service which is self-funding, and I don't think that projects that aren't self-funding are sustainable options in this day and age,” Mr Winfield said.
Council
Meanwhile, the county council wants householders to use its scheme, which uses strong plastic “refuge” bags for collecting recyclable materials.
A spokesperson for the county council explained their decision: “The scheme was monitored and compared with other recycling trials in the county and was shown to be far more cost effective that the other options, whilst performing equally well.”
Local county councillor Hag Harris was wholly supportive of the council's stance on recycling, but admitted it did provide a problem for homeowners.
Cllr Harris said: “In Lampeter, because of the continuation of the CRA scheme, we have found ourselves in a rather bizarre situation where there are two kerbside collections operating in this small town, and while it obviously is unsustainable for both schemes to continue permanently, neither is likely to withdraw its service at the moment.”
“Bullies”
The decision to supercede the CRA scheme, originally taken in February 2005, saw Mal Williams of the Wales Community Recycling Network accusing the council of behaving like “playground bullies”.
CRA member Nick North, of T-RECS, the company which provided equipment for the community-run scheme, said: “We gave the county council a viable scheme that could have worked county-wide, at absolutely no expense to the taxpayer, yet they have chosen the route which will add to the tax burden of the people of Ceredigion.”
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As the county council looks to expand its 'Refuge Bag' scheme to include the remaining 30% of homes in the county which aren't already receiving a kerbside recycling service, Mr North said he believed the council would be unable to roll its scheme out county-wide.
He said: “With the county council's project now covering much of the county, we are going to have to look at those areas that the council is not going to provide with a recycling service.”
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