Blaenau Gwent council has approved plans to introduce a new enforcement scheme for its recycling collection service in a direct bid to help meet the statutory recycling targets it faces.
The South Wales local authority is currently one of the lowest performing councils in the principality, with a 29.27% municipal waste recycling rate for the 2010/11 financial year. However, it claimed its current rate is closer to 35%.
It claims its current rate is nearer 35%, but this still falls someway short of the 52% recycling and composting rate it is expected to reach by 2012/13 under statutory recycling goals introduced by the Welsh Assembly Government in November 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story).
In a bid to address this, Blaenau Gwents executive committee last week (May 11), agreed plans that would see residents who fail to correctly separate material for recycling facing a fixed penalty notice of 100. The measure was supported by the councils environment scrutiny committee.
Enforcement action has been introduced in many other local authorities and Blaenau Gwent said it was implementing the scheme due to the potential fines that could be levied against the council for failing to meet the statutory goals.
Councillor Keith Barnes, executive member for environment at Blaenau Gwent, said: We need to get across to people exactly what it means for this council and Blaenau Gwent if we do not meet the recycling targets set by the Welsh Assembly Government it could mean fines of millions.
We have worked hard to increase recycling rates and we have improved, but more needs to be done. I believe our recycling schemes are easy for people to use and we have our waste advisory wardens on hand to answer any queries or help with any problems.
Scheme
Under the new scheme, wheeled bins must be used correctly and not overflowing with material or surrounded by copious amounts of side waste. Residents are limited to disposing the equivalent of five bags of residual waste per household per week.
If households are found to have misused their residual waste bins on four separate occasions then a fixed penalty notice will be issued. During the first, second and third breaches, a sticker will be placed on the bins and photographic evidence will be collected.
On recycling, households found to be not participating will be sent letters explaining this and told that there is the potential for them to be fined. If, after 16 weeks, a household is found to still not participating then a black bag/bin inspection will take place and a fixed penalty notice could be issued.
Furthermore, the council said that it is attempting to address participation in its food waste collection service. And, while the participation rate has risen from 31% of residents to 39% following robust monitoring, there is a need to increase this figure.
Letters are being sent out to residents informing them of the new scheme and specifying a start date for enforcement action to begin, which is expected to be in the summer.
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The enforcement action is a last resort and I would encourage everyone in Blaenau Gwent to get involved in recycling, said Cllr Barnes. I would also like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to those of you who already do.
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