Make our recycling simpler

KEEP Britain Tidy announced this week that councils are failing to hit recycling targets because they are making their collection systems too complicated. Indeed, in some areas, the amount being recycled is falling.

I wonder if Bridgend Council got the memo because the new system that it’s introducing- after the council elections in May – is pretty complicated.

Householders will have to contend with a series of coloured bags for different items plus a new black caddy for glass and the existing brown small and large food waste containers – six different containers for recycling.

The evidence is that the simpler the system, the more successful it is. The highest rate of recycling in Wales at 67 per cent is in Ceredigion where all recyclables go into the same clear plastic bags and householders have no limit on black bags for refuse – instead of the two per fortnight limit also being introduced in Bridgend.

We’re not dull, but people lose patience with unnecessary complexity in a busy world. The council needs to make recycling as easy as it can. That matters especially for older and vulnerable people.

I am heartened that Bridgend has a scheme whereby such householders can register for assistance with recycling. However, many may not register because they don’t know or may not understand how to apply for it.

Labour’s threats of £75 fines are too Big Brother for me.

Why not encourage people to recycle with an incentive scheme where they are awarded points which can be redeemed for things like leisure activities?

That’s what Welsh Conservative candidates will be campaigning for if elected in May.