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Neighbouring Merthyr Tydfil Council could face a fine of nearly £300,000 if does not meet the Welsh Government’s recycling target this year.

Welsh local authorities must achieve a 70% recycling rate or face financial penalties of £200 for every tonne under this target.

The potential cost to Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council based on the current recycling rate for 2023/24 of 64.3% is around £292,000.

But by increasing recycling rates to 70% and reducing overall waste the council could save over £800,000 of unnecessary costs a year through avoided fines and lower volumes of black bin waste.

Caerphilly County Borough Council is currently making changes to try and improve its recycling rates, which are among the worst in Wales.

Between 2012/13 and 2022/23, Merthyr Tydfil’s recycling rate increased from 49.14% to 64.28% while the total amount of waste produced decreased by more than 4,000 tonnes.

The introduction of the Welsh Government collections blueprint recycling service in 2015 helped boost the recycling rate to 65.1% in 2016/17 with the highest rate being achieved in 2020/21 (67%).

The figure for 2023/24 of 64.3% meant 16,000 tonnes of waste were recycled, £2m saved through recycling instead of disposal, and 8,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions were avoided.

The council is currently consulting on the strategy covering 2025 to 2030, which it says will tackle several challenges and ensure waste and recycling services continue to be effective and efficient.

In Caerphilly, measures being taken by the council include a new recycling system and reducing collections of non-recyclable waste from a fortnightly to a three-weekly service.