Rhondda Cynon Taf looks at penalties to boost recycling

Approved by the council’s cabinet last week, the move could be introduced alongside a reduction in the allowance of black bags provided to residents for residual waste collection.

This would see the current four-bag allowance per fortnight reduced to two bags as part of plans to increase the current 64% recycling rate.

The council referred to a WRAP composition analysis carried out in 2015 which highlighted that over 70% of the 35,000 tonnes of residual waste collected by the council is either recyclable or compostable.

“If we could capture 25% of that material, it would give us a recycling percentage of just over 71% whilst 50% would give us a figure of just under 80% which is Welsh Government’s proposed new recycling target,” a report published ahead of the meeting last week suggested.

The county borough is made up of over 230,000 residents in around 99,000 households. The borough is largely rural, consisting of the Rhondda Fawr and Fach, Cynon, Taff and Ely Valleys, plus a number of towns and villages away from the valleys.

Cabinet

The council’s cabinet met on Thursday, January 26, and voted in favour of increasing fines. The measures will go before a scrutiny committee, with the deciding vote on 16 February. The final proposals will be implemented in June if approved.

The council insisted that fixed penalty notices would only be used as a “last resort”, explaining that it has “always stated that enforcement is a last resort, and it would be the same in this case”. It added that the team will initially raise awareness with residents on this matter and only issue a fine if and when all other avenues have been exhausted.

Also, the cabinet voted in favour to amendments green waste collection. The council currently collects green waste on a weekly basis all the year round. Under the new proposals, between 1 November and 1 March, the service will revert to fortnightly to reduce the amount of time spent on the road by collection crews.

“There will be no significant budget implications and any funding needed can come from within existing budgets,” the council report stated.

Commenting on the measures, a council spokesperson said: “The council has to meet its statutory recycling targets to avoid financial penalties. The fines are significant, and without some change to the current service provision, it could struggle to achieve the recycling targets.

“Therefore doing nothing is not really an option and as in previous changes the recommendations outlined in this report look to allow the council to achieve those targets whilst not adversely affecting the residents already fully engaged with the service.”