City is on course to meet its recycling targets
CARDIFF council is on course to meet its recycling target for the year.
Rolling figures, including the last quarter of 2015-16, have been released by the Welsh Government.
They show Cardiff is on course to meet the 58% recycling target for the year.
The figures, for each of Wales’ 22 local authorities, have still not been verified. That will be in October.
All councils were told by the Welsh Government they had to recycle 58% of their waste in 2015-16 as part of an attempt to recycle 70% of waste by 2024-25. The next target is 64% by 2020.
As it stands, Bridgend, Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT), Merthyr and Caerphilly have all met that 58% target.
Last year, authorities which missed their targets had their fines waived. That included Cardiff and RCT.
The total amount of fines waived by then Minister for Natural Resources Carl Sargeant was £1.8m.
Cardiff council avoided a £802,000 fine by the Welsh Government, while Rhondda Cynon Taf council avoided a £582,400 fine. Merthyr was also in line for a £224,000 fine.
The Welsh Government said imposing fines at that time would be counter-productive.
Wales’ biggest local authority – Cardiff – was one of those which missed its target but by introducing a raft of new changes to its bin collections, it persuaded the Welsh Government not to impose the fine.
In the release of figures, there is a warning that the authority has reported the biggest decrease in the amount of waste prepared for reuse, recycling or composting.
That decrease, the report says, is due to a large increase in the year before’s figures when the council stockpiled street sweepings.
Recycling rates in the valley authorities has also increased by eight percentage points thanks to incentives in Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend and Caerphilly.
Cabinet member Bob Derbyshire said: “I am absolutely delighted that the hard work has paid off as initial figures show that we have reached our recycling target. This data still needs to be verified but the figures are showing a city-wide increase in recycling of at least 5% overall, which is a fantastic achievement by the people of Cardiff. I would like to thank residents for engaging with our scheme, contributing to this step change and for taking on board the recycling message which is so important for our environment’s well-being.”
The three councils at risks of fines are Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Newport.
Blaenau Gwent currently has a fig-
ure of 49%, Torfaen and Newport both have 57%.
Cabinet secretary for environment and rural affairs, Lesley Griffiths said: “This is the first year recycling targets have increased beyond the ambitious level of 58%, up from the previous year’s target of 52%. The fact these figures not only achieve the target but, in fact, exceed it is highly encouraging, showing we are continually improving our recycling rate.”
“It’s clear that local authorities and householders are working hard to recycle and we are well on the way to achieving our 70% recycling target set for 2025. I am proud that we lead the rest of the UK in our recycling rate but I want us to do even better and become Europe’s best recycling nation.”