Carmarthen residents benefit from recycling scheme

Residents in Carmarthen flats are now recycling their rubbish.
People living in Woods Row and Cambrian Court have been given a doorstep collection of blue bags and food bins for the first time.
The council has already rolled out the scheme to homes across the county and is now introducing a recycling service to flats and sheltered housing complexes.
These types of properties have to be looked at individually by the waste section as they all have different accessibility and space/storage issues which need to be addressed before a recycling service can be provided.
Residents and tenants have welcomed the new scheme as it makes it so much easier for them to recycle their rubbish.
Council Waste Minimisation/Recycling Officer Karen Fulham went along to a tenants and residents meeting to advise them on the scheme and answer any questions they had.
She said: “The residents are really pleased that they can now recycle at home. It can be difficult to service flats with recycling as we often have to contend with stairways and there can be issues with storage. However, we have been able to overcome this and offer residents in Woods Row and Cambrian Court the blue bag and food waste collection.
“We are looking to offer a recycling service to other flats in the county and will be working on this over the coming months. Our aim is to have 100% of residents in Carmarthenshire on a recycling scheme.”
Carmarthenshire is currently recycling approximately 50% of its waste; however, it must achieve a 52% recycling target for 2012/13 and 70% by 2024/2025. Failure to meet these targets could result in financial penalties potentially running into millions of pounds.
The council must also reduce the amount of waste going to landfill or again faces substantial fines.
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 and I am delighted these that these residents in Carmarthen are now able to receive a recycling service.
“It is vital we recycle as much of our waste as possible if we are to achieve these challenging targets set for us by the Welsh Government.”