Recycling crews at Welsh council to search bins and hand £70 fines to rule-breakers
Recycling crews will rummage through people's bins in a scheme to boost recycling rates in a Welsh county. Caerphilly county council's recycling advisory teams could dish out £70 fines to repeat offenders who throw recyclable materials into their general waste bins.
Fines will only be used as a last resort if previous attempts to engage and educate repeat offenders are unsuccessful. Councillor Chris Morgan, cabinet member for waste, told colleagues that the county's residents are producing 410kg of residual waste each year compared to a national average of 360kg.
Research in 2023 found 59% of general waste bins' contents was actually recyclable. Failing to hit national recycling targets runs the risk of multimillion-pound Welsh Government fines.
Under the new penalty system residents will first receive a leaflet outlining what should be placed in each container or bin. Incidents of "non-compliance" will be dealt with by a recycling advice team visit and a letter explaining the breach.
A second incident would result in another letter and a so-called section 46 notice telling the resident involved they have a legal duty to separate their waste.
A third incident would ultimately lead to a £70 fixed penalty notice – which would be reduced to £35 if paid within two weeks.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting the council's waste strategy officer Hayley Jones said teams had "engaged with several thousand residents" on the existing recycling scheme coinciding with a sharp uptick in food waste collections.
"As well as the positive impact that removing the material would have... there are significant financial savings that can be achieved, particularly if we can divert food waste," she said.
This is because the cost of sending food waste for anaerobic digestion is cheaper than sending general waste for incineration.
"When we are using the anaerobic facility it's a real circular economy because it's in our county borough," added council leader Sean Morgan.
The council has launched an online tool, Recycle Right, where residents can check how to dispose of various items and materials.
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