Funded by the Landfill Tax Credits Scheme and packaging recovery note funds from steel packaging recycler Corus, the service will initially cover 12,000 homes. If successful, it will be expanded to 38,000 households.
The weekly collection will pick up steel and aluminium cans, paper, glass and textiles, which will be sorted into cages on custom-built vehicles.
 Monmouth recycling: (left to right) Corus recycling development executive Garvin Freeman, MCR staff member Paul Bull, council chairman Colin White, county recycling officer Paul Quayle and MCR manager David Roman |
The paper will go to Shotton Paper, glass will go to RMC to make aggregates and textiles will go to a local textile merchant. The cans will go to Corus via SimsMetal in Newport, one of the 13 approved Corus CanRoute centres in the UK.
David Roman, project manager at Monmouthshire Community Recycling said: “We've already started putting out the boxes in the Caldicot area and it will be Chepstow soon after. We're hoping to pick up about 2,000 tonnes in the first year.”
The service has created seven jobs and it is hoped that expanding the service would create 30 further positions.
Commenting at the launch of the scheme, Paul Quayle, Monmouthshire county council recycling officer, said: “Monmouthshire is facing one of its greatest challenges to curb the growth in waste, and increase the 3R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Within the next few years Monmouthshire County Council’s waste strategy includes a dramatic increase in recycling.
“Monmouthshire’s record has always been one of the best in Wales but we plan to get better. We currently recycle over 10% of our waste but in the next 10 years we plan to increase that to at least 40% of our rubbish. With the help of Monmouthshire Community Recycling and of course local residents, Monmouthshire County Council plans to meet the challenge.”
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