The changes, which were adopted at the end of July, see some householders limited to three red-striped bags per fortnight in which to dispose of their residual waste.
And, in other areas of the city, the council has replaced 240-litre wheeled bins for refuse with smaller 140L containers.
The ‘Stay out of the Black…Move into the Green’ campaign was rolled out by the council in a bid to meet ambitious recycling targets set out by the Welsh Government – with all local authorities in Wales expected to reach 58% by next year.
Unpopular
The move has proved unpopular, with residents criticising the consultation process for the service and arguing they do not have enough space to store the new containers. Revelations that those requiring extra red-striped bags will have to pay £1.85 per bag plus a minimum £10 commercial collection charge also angered householders – though a spokesman for the council said this was a pre-existing charge for extra bags and not part of its initiative to increase recycling (see letsrecycle.com story).
But, Cardiff council claims to have now identified an “upward trend” in recycling across the city just three months into the roll out of the new service.
Comparing the statistics for August to September with the same period for 2014, the council found that the tonnage of recycling material collected has increased by 11% – while food waste is also up by 15%.
In two months, the council has also received 7,778 food caddy requests compared with 3,542 for the same period in 2014.
A council spokesman told letsrecycle.com that the council was very happy with the results, though conceded it was too early to assess how the reduction in residual bin capacity would affect the yearly rate.
Trend
Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Bob Derbyshire said: “The upward trend identified in these figures is obviously very pleasing.”
He added: “Whilst these figures are great news it’s important that we don’t get complacent and remember that it’s still early days. The recycling target for 2015/16 is 58% and we’ve got to remain focussed on achieving that figure. I would like to thank residents for embracing the changes introduced and encourage everybody to keep up the good work.”
In 2013/14, Cardiff’s recycling rate dropped from 52.1% to 49.7% – the only Welsh council to dip below the 52% statutory target set in 2014.
However, in the latest set of figures for 2014/15, Cardiff recorded a recycling rate of 53.4% – meaning it will need to increase its recycling rate by four percentage points in order to meet the next target or risk a fine.
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