A Welsh council is facing millions in fines owing to recycling targets, which campaigners claim are “absurdly strict.”
The Welsh Labour-run government is keen to maintain its status as the “second-best recycling nation in the world,” however enforcing this is costing Welsh taxpayers millions of pounds.
In December 2023, it raised the statutory minimum target recycling targets on local authorities to 70 percent from its previous 64 percent target.
Only five local authorities—Swansea, Pembrokeshire, Bridgend, Ceredigion and Monmouthshire—out of 17 so far have managed this target.
Others, however, are struggling and are facing hefty fines for not doing so.
Furthermore, Wales’s waste laws came into force in April, which means that all workplaces such as businesses, public sector, and charities need to separate their recyclable materials in the same way most households already do.
Caerphilly
Caerphilly Council currently faces £2 million per year in fines, around £200,000 per percentage point below the target, for not reaching the performance targets.It has the highest level of residual waste per person in Wales. It is also facing a gap of £35 million in next year’s budget, compared to its worst year in austerity when it had to find £14 million.
He said that the council’s recycling centres, formerly tips, are still dealing with mountains of extra waste generated when many residents had lockdown clear outs.
A CCBC spokesman told The Epoch Times by email, “We are currently facing large fines for not meeting the statutory recycling targets set by Welsh Government, however, are working hard to ensure we meet and exceed future targets.”
‘Wants to Control’
Independent councillor Nigel Dix told The Epoch Times that the council will need another 12 recycling wagons at £350,000 each, costing over £4 million, to reach the targets.He said that the punitive approach is “not going to help anything at all.”
“We need to make sure that we get it right and that the system is user friendly,” he said.
He added that the council has had to make cuts which will continue for the next couple of years. But at the same time, the council is investing in various projects, including wind farms and building council houses, which involve “significant risk.”
‘Absurdly Strict Targets’
Elliot Keck, head of campaigns at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, told The Epoch Times by email that “taxpayers are fed up of seeing money being endlessly recycled from one level of government to the next.”“These absurdly strict targets imposed on councils are setting them up for failure, and millions of pounds in fines are now being shifted from local government to Welsh ministers, with nothing achieved,” he said.
“The Senedd should ensure that targets placed on town halls are achievable, and avoid excessive fines such as these,” he added.
A Welsh Government spokeswoman told The Epoch Times by email that it did not want to comment.
Last December, Minister for Climate Change Julie James said that Wales had an “impressive recycling record.”
“The landfill and recycling stats once again show us what can be achieved when we all work together to tackle climate change and put in the hard work to ensure we’re building a green and prosperous Wales for future generations,” she added.
