Three-weekly bin collections considered after council warned over missed recycling targets

General waste collections in Wrexham could move to three-weekly after the local authority was warned by the Welsh Government over its recycling performance.

Just over 63 per cent of waste locally was recycled in the last 12 months – making Wrexham the 19th worst performing local authority in Wales.

The Welsh Government has a statutory target of recycling 70 per cent of waste by 2024/25.

Local authorities that fail to hit this target risk being fined by a rate of £200 per tonne.

For example a performance of 64 per cent recycling rate for 2024/25 would equate to a fine of approximately £660,000 if imposed.

Wrexham Council’s recycling rate has declined steadily in recent years, dropping from 69.62 per cent in 2019/20 to just 63.88 per cent in 2023/24.

The largest drop has taken place since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, seeing Wrexham Council drop from 7th in Wales for its recycling rates in 2021/22, to 10th out of 22 in 2022/23 and 19th in 2023/24.

A report due before members of the council’s homes and environment scrutiny committee on Wednesday 18 September outlines the several factors believed to be behind the drop.

These include changing behaviour, changes in packaging, seasonal variations impacting certain waste streams, restrictions at household recycling centres, industrial action, and changes in waste composition.

However the drop in recycling rates in Wrexham has led to the council receiving a warning from the Welsh Government over the performance and mitigation measures needed to meet the statutory targets and avoid fiscal fines.

A recent compositional analysis found that 58 per cent of waste within a general (black) bin could have been recycled through the council’s services.

Wednesday’s report notes that a “number of initiatives have been undertaken in relation to improving the recycling rates within the borough in addition to an All Member Workshop being held to discuss various remodelling options for our waste service.”

These include:

• Improvements to the collection of recycling containers to meet requirements
• Local and social media presence – blogs including food waste, plastic free, be mighty recycle, weekly email reminders, alerts, webpages new and revised, press releases (digital and printed), use of digital boards around city centre
• Door Stepping – face to face engagement and leaflet drops to address difficulties and awareness
• Local engagement events to increase recycling at events and raise awareness of kerbside services
• Work with Wrexham University to improve student accommodation recycling
• Reuse promotion – pop up events to promote reuse shop.

The report states: “Wrexham Council have taken a number of actions in order to improve recycling and reduce waste, and continue to work proactively to achieve this.

“Despite these efforts we continue to see a large volume of recyclable items placed in the residual waste bin and static participation levels.”

It is also noted that Wrexham Council is just one of two local authorities in Wales to offer a 240 litres collection per fortnight – more than double the Welsh Government’s recommendation of a maximum of 60 litres of residual waste being collected per household per week.

Several options to improve Wrexham’s recycling rate are being considered, including maintaining the current service, a move to a three-weekly service and a reduction in black bin size.

The report states: “Based on the evidence available and professional considerations of the department, we propose that as a minimum we should be progressing Option 1 is adopted in order to put us in a strong position to meet the statutory Welsh target of 70 per cent.

“Full costings on the impact of this change are in the process of being finalised, however it should be noted that this change primarily keeps the same waste bin so avoids the financial implications of changing receptacles for over 60,000 properties.

“This change in frequency would see Wrexham Council more closely align with collections across Wales, though it would still be a higher volume/frequency than many general waste collections nationally.

“The reduction in the frequency of general waste collections should not be carried out in isolation and will be supported by a number of other initiatives which all have the overall aim of increasing our recycling rates

“Evidence shows that 58 per cent of the average general waste bin is filled with recyclable materials, the majority of which would continue to be collected on a weekly basis.

“It is acknowledged that there is public concern in respect of any changes to the waste collection service but it is important to highlight that the proposals will not result in residents having to utilise other services to dispose of the waste (e.g. visiting the recycling centres, commissioning private companies).

“The proposal simply means residents appropriately separating their waste in to the correct containers/bin.

The report will be considered by members of the homes and environment scrutiny committee on Wednesday 18 September.

Top pic: Local legend and top recycler, Michael, who could be answering the call to return…