Welsh councils that are under financial pressures could move from general waste collections fortnightly to just once monthly. At present, 11 councils offer fortnightly general waste collections; however, recycling targets mean that more may soon move towards one monthly collection. A family stated that they already make regular trips to their local tip to manage their waste, despite recycling everything they can each week. Out of Wales’ 22 local authorities, only Conwy council offers monthly general waste collections. Other councils that are considering making changes to waste collections include Cardiff council, which has proposed collections every three weeks, Caerphilly council, which is consulting on collections every three or four weeks, and Denbighshire council, which is considering collections every four weeks. Ceredigion has considered scrapping nappy collections completely, whilst Monmouthshire is proposing a 10% increase in charges for garden waste collections.
From April, the Welsh government’s recycling target for local authorities is 70% of all rubbish collected. Whilst few councils are achieving this, some face fines if they do not improve. For example, Caerphilly council risks fines of £2mn if it does not improve its recycling rates. In an attempt to increase recycling and reduce general waste, many councils are promoting food waste recycling. The Biogen recycling plant near Aberdare recycles 22,500 tonnes of food waste from households in Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, and Rhondda Cynon Taf. Almost a quarter of Wales’ residual waste is food, which is an important consideration for councils as they attempt to increase recycling performance.
All Welsh councils are facing financial challenges, as the funds the Welsh government receives from the UK government have been cut back. The Welsh Local Government Association has confirmed that its members are under pressures from environmental and financial challenges, including a £432mn funding gap. As councils struggle to balance their budgets, increasing council tax whilst reducing waste collection frequency is among the options being explored
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