Improving recycling rates will ‘take time’ and require ‘massive’ changes

“Massive” changes to waste management at Caerphilly County Borough Council will “take time” to implement, the service’s cabinet member has said.

Cllr Chris Morgan described efforts to drive up the borough’s low recycling rates as a “long journey” with “risks”.

His comments come as a new report finds the council has “partially” met recommendations for improvements.

The council’s current waste strategy was launched to stave off multimillion-pound Welsh Government fines for non-compliance.

This week, cabinet members will decide whether to cut collections for residual waste bins, in the hope it will encourage more residents to recycle properly.

The likely proposal is to cut bin rounds from a fortnightly to a three-weekly service.

Members will also consider introducing a recycling sorting system for residents, similar to that already used by many other local authorities.

Garden waste collections could also be made more infrequent, but recycling and food waste would still be picked up weekly.

Any changes are not expected to come into effect until late 2027 or early 2028.

Caerphilly’s recycling rates have sat among the worst in Wales in recent years – and are well below the 70% target the Welsh Government introduced in April.

Audit Wales, in a new follow-up report, found the council has “made progress” by adopting the waste strategy since its previous review, in 2023.

But there are “significant risks to its implementation, and the council does not anticipate reaching Welsh Government statutory recycling targets until 2030, facing the risk of financial penalties”, the auditors concluded.

They accepted it was too soon to “fully assess the impact” of the council’s new waste strategy, but said success would depend on “several large-scale actions with tight deadlines to all be developed and delivered on time”.

The auditors also noted many of the strategy’s “critical” elements won’t be in place for some time – including the proposals being discussed this week.

In response, Cllr Morgan said: “It’s good to see they realise we are on a long journey to achieve Welsh Government recycling targets – we can’t do it overnight, it’s a huge undertaking.

“I acknowledge the risks, the change is massive, we currently have a popular recycling system at the moment and it’s going to take time to implement the new one.”

Recycling rates have improved slightly in Caerphilly since the council committed to reviewing its waste service, but will continue to lag behind the 70% target, according the report, which sets the backdrop for this week’s cabinet decision.

Audit Wales said the council’s recycling system, which doesn’t require residents to sort different materials at home, was “hindered with contamination issues” and doesn’t comply with a Welsh Government “blueprint”.

It said communication with residents will be “key” to improving recycling habits, given high levels of pessimism about the impact of changes.

The financial implications of non-compliance are also significant.

The council has been threatened with more than £2 million in previous fines, and could be hit with more if the strategy doesn’t bear fruit.

But the improvements themselves will also come at a high price, with Audit Wales finding the council will have to make annual repayments of £1.4 million on a 25-year loan it has taken out to partly fund the changes.