These groups will now receive 20 per tonne of materials they recycle
instead of the previous 19 per tonne.
“As from April 1, we have had to pay 1 per tonne in additional Landfill Tax for every tonne of bin bags we have to tip,” said Councillor Betty Rae
Watkins, chair of the council's housing, environmental health and trading
standards committee.
“So the savings that are made through recycling – and not tipping – are passed on directly to the community groups. As the tax rate has now risen to 12 per tonne, committee members felt that it was right that the savings from recycling should be passed on to these groups,” said the Ystradgynlais councillor.
Recently, three more sites have been adopted by community groups. “In return for the payment we ask the group to promote the facilities to local people, clean the site daily, and arrange for collection when the
skips are full and we estimate that – between them – they will be able to raise many thousands of pounds for their groups,” said Councillor Watkins.
She explained that Powys now supports a number of community groups for running 27 sites throughout the county. Last year, some 40,000 was paid to community groups for their valuable work in helping the authority increase recycling rates to around 14%, an increase of over 45% on the previous year's figures.
Subscribe for free