Ceredigion County Council back on top for recycling and carbon

The Welsh government target for the 12 months to the end of March 2016 was 58%. Wales as a whole reached a recycling percentage of 60%, whilst Ceredigion came out on top with a whopping 68% (just 2% behind the target for 2025).

Huw Morgan, Strategic Director of Sustainable Communities explains that there are numerous reasons for this outstanding performance. One of which is the willingness of residents to take part in the recycling collection service provided by the Council.  The Council provides clear plastic sacks for a wide range of recyclable materials.   “The service we offer is easy to use and is popular with residents.  Our data suggests that 98% of households in Ceredigion take part in the recycling collection service at least some of the time, which is a fantastic achievement” he said.

Another reason which has helped Ceredigion reach the recycling performance is a change in the way the Council deals with residual waste (black bags) after it is collected from residents. In the past residual waste was sent to a landfill site. Recently Ceredigion has been working in partnership with Pembrokeshire County Council, and most of the county’s residual waste is now sent to a power plant in Sweden. At the plant, the waste is burnt to produce heat and electricity. The ash produced as part of this process is recycled and this has helped further with Ceredigion’s recycling performance. No toxic emissions are released into the atmosphere during the process, as it is one of the most efficient power plants in Europe; dealing with non-recyclable waste in this way is more beneficial to the environment than landfilling the waste.

The Council even recycles the roadside sweepings that it collects and this had a big impact on the Council’s recycling performance during 2015/16.

Not only is the recycling achievement great for the county, it’s great for the planet too.  Recycling saves greenhouse gas emissions because it avoids waste being sent to rot in landfill or burned in an incinerator – and because it reduces the need for energy-intensive extraction of raw materials. Ceredigion Council has been announced as number one in Wales in the annual Recycling Carbon Index.  The league table, prepared by Eunomia Research & Consulting, calculates the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that are prevented as a result of local residents’ recycling efforts.

Saving a total of 104kg of Carbon Dioxide per person in the area, the council’s recycling collection services are the most effective in reducing carbon emissions in Wales – though it was a close run thing, with last year’s league leaders, Powys, coming in just 1kg per person behind. Councillor Alun Williams, portfolio holder for Waste said “We’re very proud of what local residents have helped us achieve, and it’s great to be at the top of the recycling league and the Carbon Index. The result shows that the effort that residents make to separate waste really pays dividends when it comes to producing carbon savings.

The Council isn’t resting on its laurels though. As Huw Morgan explained “last years’ performance was fantastic but there is still room for improvement.  As a small rural authority we sometimes struggle to provide the services our residents expect and deserve.  We’re working hard to improve the waste service and that will need the efforts of our staff, contractors and residents. We’ll need to be more flexible in the future in order to make the most of what we have.  We’re always looking for new opportunities to recycle more and reduce costs.  I’d like to thank everyone involved in getting us to where we are and to continue with the good work so that we can recycle even more this year”.