Council to discuss future of waste collection

NEW plans for how household waste and recycling could be collected and dealt with in future have been discussed by Bridgend County Council.

Among the options under consideration are ambitious plans for increasing the types of different materials that households in the area can recycle, as well as improving methods of collection, and introducing a new fleet of greener ultra-low emission collection vehicles.

Members of the council will also explore if the new service should be outsourced, provided in-house, or even provided as part of a partnership with neighbouring authorities.

The service, which is currently provided by Kier Services Limited, has been outsourced to commercial operators since 2003 and is subject to renewal every seven years.

Though with the current contract due to end on March 31, 2024, Kier has confirmed that it intends to leave the waste market in order to focus on other areas of business, and have no plans to continuing running the service.

However, future Welsh Government recycling targets have not yet been announced, and new legislative requirements are imminent which could also potentially affect any new service.

To ensure that there is enough time for the new arrangements to take account of these important factors, cabinet members have agreed to look at all post-March 2024 options, including whether to go out to tender for a possible two-year contract as an interim measure.

This would ensure that the household recycling and waste service could continue in the meantime while the authority develops its longer-term plans.

John Spanswick, cabinet member for communities, said: “This marks the first steps in the development of an all-new new waste and recycling service for Bridgend County Borough.

“The temporary arrangement would cover the period up to 2026 to ensure that waste and collection services could continue in the short term while the council takes full account of the emerging national picture, and uses it to build the new long-term service model.

“It would mean that the authority will have time to ensure that any new waste and recycling service is capable of hitting its targets while delivering maximum benefits, both for the council and for local residents, while also enabling extensive public consultation on any proposed changes to how the future service might operate.”

Council officers will now start exploring available options and will deliver further reports and updates to the council’s cabinet as the proposals develop.