Recycling figures a boost for Carmarthenshire
New figures show residents in Carmarthenshire are now recycling more than 50% of their rubbish.
Carmarthenshire County Council achieved a 50.5% recycling rate in the latest quarterly statistics on local authority municipal waste produced by the Welsh Government.
The official figures from the Environment Agency’s WasteDataFlow are for July to September 2011 and show an increase of seven per cent on the same period the previous year.
Director of Technical Services Richard Workman said: “The figures for the second quarter of this year are very pleasing and I would like to thank householders for their continued efforts to separate their waste for recycling.
“Recycling figures are generally higher during the summer months than at other times of the year because of the large amount of garden waste sent for composting; however, it is still showing a seven per cent increase on the same period last year.
“A number of new projects are underway to try and increase our recycling rate including a new project with Age Cymru Sir Gâr to assist older people in the county. We are making a number of improvements at the Household Waste Recycling Centres and we are continuing to increase the number of recycling banks throughout Carmarthenshire.
“We have also extended the green bin/blue bag scheme to more homes which means that almost 99% of the county now benefits from kerbside recycling and we hope to provide a recycling service to the remaining one per cent, mainly flats and complexes, as soon as possible.”
Wales is the only country in the UK to introduce statutory targets for municipal recycling and the first statutory target for local authorities is 52% for 2012/13.
Cllr Jim Jones, Chair of the Environment Scrutiny Committee, said: “I know a lot of work is underway in Carmarthenshire to reduce the amount of household waste going to landfill and to increase the county’s recycling rate.
“I am delighted by these latest figures which are very encouraging, however it is vital we keep up the good work and recycle as much of our waste as possible if we are to achieve the 52% recycling target for 2012/13.”
Failure to achieve the target could result in financial penalties potentially running into millions of pounds.
The green bin/blue bag recycling scheme was launched in February 2008 and has been a big success.
Carmarthenshire County Council achieved a 50.5% recycling rate in the latest quarterly statistics on local authority municipal waste produced by the Welsh Government.
The official figures from the Environment Agency’s WasteDataFlow are for July to September 2011 and show an increase of seven per cent on the same period the previous year.
Director of Technical Services Richard Workman said: “The figures for the second quarter of this year are very pleasing and I would like to thank householders for their continued efforts to separate their waste for recycling.
“Recycling figures are generally higher during the summer months than at other times of the year because of the large amount of garden waste sent for composting; however, it is still showing a seven per cent increase on the same period last year.
“A number of new projects are underway to try and increase our recycling rate including a new project with Age Cymru Sir Gâr to assist older people in the county. We are making a number of improvements at the Household Waste Recycling Centres and we are continuing to increase the number of recycling banks throughout Carmarthenshire.
“We have also extended the green bin/blue bag scheme to more homes which means that almost 99% of the county now benefits from kerbside recycling and we hope to provide a recycling service to the remaining one per cent, mainly flats and complexes, as soon as possible.”
Wales is the only country in the UK to introduce statutory targets for municipal recycling and the first statutory target for local authorities is 52% for 2012/13.
Cllr Jim Jones, Chair of the Environment Scrutiny Committee, said: “I know a lot of work is underway in Carmarthenshire to reduce the amount of household waste going to landfill and to increase the county’s recycling rate.
“I am delighted by these latest figures which are very encouraging, however it is vital we keep up the good work and recycle as much of our waste as possible if we are to achieve the 52% recycling target for 2012/13.”
Failure to achieve the target could result in financial penalties potentially running into millions of pounds.
The green bin/blue bag recycling scheme was launched in February 2008 and has been a big success.
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