Caerphilly County Borough Council could face a fine for missing recycling targets – according to provisional figures.

The council was one of four authorities in Wales to miss the new 64% target last year – recording an overall rate of 62.51% – according to figures published in a Blaenau Gwent council report.

The council’s recycling rate dropped from the sixth best in Wales, at 65.08%, to the third worst at 62.51%.

Only Neath Port Talbot, at 61.74%, and Cardiff, at 58.14%, recorded worse rates.

The figures still need to be verified by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), before being checked and published by Welsh Government on October 31.

Some of the figures may change in the process, Welsh Government said.

Councils face a fine of £200 per tonne of excess waste for missing the legal target.

The average recycling rate across Wales in 2019/20 was 65.31% – an improvement from 59.28% the previous year, according to the report.

However, the target of all waste which must be recycled has risen from 58% to 64%.

It will rise to 70% in 2024/25.

If any authority fails to meet the 64% target, Welsh Government said it can consider factors such as how many times it has missed the target, how much it fell short by and what reassurances it has provided for future delivery before deciding upon fines.

Councillor Nigel George, cabinet member for community services, said: “Earlier this year we were made aware of concerns raised by NRW about the way a third-party waste company disposed of textile materials. This waste could not be counted and subsequently led to a decline in our overall recycling performance of around 2%.

“This is obviously very disappointing because, if this material had been processed properly as we were led to believe, then we would have achieved our statuary target.

“The council is taking appropriate legal advice to address this matter and we are also working with Welsh Government so that they fully understand the reasons for our shortfall.”

Cllr George thanked residents “for their ongoing efforts” and added: “We are taking all appropriate steps to ensure our waste disposal contracts are robust and monitored effectively to avoid any repeat of this type of incident in the future.”