Posted on: Friday 19 May 2023
Average contents of purple-lidded bins
There's just two weeks left to have your say on how you think recycling rates can be improved in Torfaen.
The Welsh Government has said all local authorities in Wales must increase domestic recycling to 70 per cent by 2025 or face substantial fines.
Recent household recycling rates in Torfaen have been around 62 per cent.
In 2021 and 2022, a Welsh Government-commissioned analysis was carried out into purple-lidded bin waste from one thousand properties randomly selected from across Torfaen.
It found 80 per cent of the waste could be recycled - more than 60 per cent of which could be recycled at the kerbside, such as food waste, cardboard and paper.
A recent consultation on proposals to encourage people to put less in their purple-lidded bins by reducing residual waste collections was stopped last month.
Instead, Council Leader Anthony Hunt has launched a new Raise the Rate campaign to focus on how the council and residents can increase recycling rates together.
You can get involved by completing a new Raise the Rate survey here.
More than 1,200 people have already completed the survey, which closes on Friday 2 June.
Council Leader Anthony Hunt said: "We’ve come a long way in Torfaen over the last 20 years but we all need to do more to reach the Welsh Government target of 70 per cent recycling.
“So I am asking you to tell us about your experiences of recycling and how you think we can all increase what we recycle. Your views will help inform what we can do as a council to increase recycling and how we can help individuals and communities to do more.
“If we cannot increase rates together, we will have no option but take other steps, such as reducing residual collections, or face fines of up to £100,000 per percentage point missed.”
Cllr Mandy Owen, Executive Member for the Environment, added: "The evidence suggests that if we all recycled everything that's collected at the kerbside, we will significantly increase recycling rates.
"We need to understand why people put certain items into their purple-lidded bins when they can be recycled and how we can help them make the changes,
"It's also important to remember that increasing recycling rates is one way we can all help to tackle climate change because reusing material from recycled products creates fewer emissions."
The new Raise the Rate campaign will include public engagement and education, as well as:
- Plans for more stretchy plastic collection points.
- A commitment to working with social landlords to increase recycling facilities at flats.
- Improvements to the quality of the recycling service.
- Investment in recycling facilities at Ty Coch.
You can part in the survey on Get Involved Torfaen anonymously or register to be kept updated about future surveys.
Find out what you can recycle in each box or bag on our website.