City recycling centres set for changes to boost recycling levels

Changes could be introduced at some of Swansea’s household waste recycling centres in a bid to improve recycling facilities and boost recycling levels.

Swansea Council has put forward a number of proposals linked to its current waste management arrangements in an attempt to meet strict new government recycling targets.

By 2020, all councils in Wales must recycle 64% of its waste. The current recycling rate in Swansea is just over 58%.

The proposed changes would see up to four of its five Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) being converted to recycling centres.

The five sites are at Llansamlet, Garngoch, Penlan, Tir John and Clyne.

David Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation, said: “Recycling levels in Swansea are improving every year and I’m grateful to the residents across the city who dispose of their household waste in this way.

“Introducing limits on the number of black bags residents can place out for collection at the kerb has had a significant positive impact on our recycling rate.

“We also now need to look at how our recycling centres contribute to the overall performance and if there is anything we can do that would further improve recycling levels.”

Ongoing analysis of black bags disposed of at HWRCs has highlighted that around 75% of the materials contained in them could be recycled.

Cllr Hopkins added: “Residents should not view recycling centres as a place they can simply throw away recyclable materials in black bags. Burying residual waste in black bags at landfill costs us around £4million a year and we have to look at better ways of tackling this issue.”

Further proposals include the roll-out of the reusable pink plastic collection scheme which involves residents using reusable sacks instead of plastic bags to dispose of household plastic at the kerb. A trial is ongoing in certain parts of Swansea.

A fleet of new waste collection vehicles is also included in the recommendations featured in the report.

A review is also planned to look at increasing parking provision at the HWRCs so that queues can be reduced at peak times.

The proposed changes follow an in-depth commissioning review by the council which look at the overall Waste Management service.

Clive Lloyd, Cabinet Member for Transformation and Performance said: “The review looked at a wide range of different options for the future of waste management.

“Our focus is on transforming the service into a better performing one that aims to boost recycling performance in Swansea as well as reducing the cost of landfilling waste.”

A public consultation is also ongoing in relation to the proposals and how the public use HWRCs.