Gowerton says hello to re-usable pink bag trial

A MAJOR trial of reusable pink sacks is taking the next step forward in a Swansea community this week.

Thousands of homes in St Thomas, Bonymaen, Pentrechwyth, Pontlliw and Pontarddulais are this week being joined by parts by Gowerton in the trial organised by the council.

Initial feedback from householders has been very positive and the council’s recycling teams have even noticed that the squashed plastics being put out in the new bags are cleaner than those in the traditional disposable pink sacks.

Mark Thomas, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation, said:  “We’ve had plenty of feedback from residents in those areas already using the new reusable pink bags and it’s been pretty positive.

“Each reusable pink bag is capable of holding the about same amount of plastic as two of the single-use pink bags households use in non-trial areas.

“Apart from the fact that the new bags are better for the environment than the single use ones, the special weights in the bottom of the reusable bags reduce the risk of them getting blown away in windy weather.”

Cllr Thomas said that early results from the trials in Pontarddulais and St Thomas/Bonymaen also indicated that the quality of the plastics being collected has improved too.

He said: “The advice we give to all residents is that their plastics need to be washed and cleaned. That’s because the company which takes the recycling will discard dirty materials and too much of that will affect our recycling rates.

“What we’ve found is that the plastics we collect in the reusable bags is noticeably cleaner than what we get in the single-use bags.”

Over the last 18 months recycling rates in Swansea have jumped to an average 56.4%, less than 2% short of the Welsh Government target of 58% that has to be reached by next March.

The Welsh Government has warned councils that they can expect a £200 a tonne fine for every tonne over the limit that goes to landfill and Cllr Thomas said: “At times like these when we have to make every penny count, paying fines for not recycling is just money straight down the drain – money we could be spending on things like social care and education.”

Residents in Gowerton who have the new reusable bags will need to use them from this week as plastics in single-use bags won’t be picked up.

The pink plastic recycling scheme has been very successful since it was launched 2010. Tens of thousands of households across the city use the service, helping to reduce the amount of waste the people of Swansea send to landfill.

If you live in Gowerton and haven’t received reusable pink bags you should continue to use the single-use ones. For more information on the trial go to the council’s website www.swansea.gov.uk/bagtrial