The sites are being considered under a new waste strategy being drawn up by the council, which will be phased in within the next five years. The collection banks will help to meet with the provisions of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, which is expected to be implemented into domestic law by 2004.
In line with the National Waste Strategy for Wales, the Welsh Assembly is providing a Strategic Waste Grant worth 1 million over the next three years towards development of the new CA sites.
In order to receive the grant, the council must provide collection and storage facilities for household hazardous waste such as fluorescent tubes and batteries as well as electrical waste such as hairdryers and computers.
Within the National Waste Strategy for Wales 2002, the Welsh Assembly states that key targets instruments and actions to deliver policies should include improved segregation of hazardous waste. It states: “By 2003/04 all civic amenity sites should have facilities for receiving and storing, prior to recycling, oils, paints, solvents and fluorescent light bulbs.”
An additional 200,000 under the heading of ‘revenue allowance’ will also be provided by the Assembly, as well as the council’s contribution of 300,000 from its own internal budget.
At the moment, existing sites collect more than 18,500 thousand tonnes of waste a year, of which 40% is recycled and composted. By next year, recycling and composting rates must be boosted to 50%, with these facilities set to with increasing stringent targets, said Carmarthenshire’s head of environmental services Gareth Jones.
Although facilities will be provided for the electrical waste in the civic amenity sites, Mr Jones said he was unsure how the actual waste would be collected from householders.
He said: “Under the National Waste Strategy for Wales we have to make it a primary target for 2003/ 2004 to provide facilities to receive and store electrical waste, although we are not sure how this will be collected, but we don’t know how this will be collected form the householders.
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