Nicholas Thomas, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans for a new waste depot aimed at improving recycling rates and avoiding multimillion-pound fines have been approved.
Caerphilly Council hopes the depot in Ystrad Mynach will help it meet national recycling targets after years near the bottom of Wales’ performance tables.
The depot will enable the council to introduce the ‘blueprint’ system of recycling collections already operating across most of Wales.
“We are delighted that planning permission has now been granted for this important project,” said Cllr Jamie Pritchard, the council’s leader, following a committee decision this week.
“This investment will help transform the way we manage recycling in Caerphilly County Borough, allowing us to process materials locally, and provide a more effective and efficient service for our residents,” he added.
The investment in the new depot will not be cheap – the Welsh Government will contribute more than half the money required, but the council has agreed to borrow the remaining £24.8 million.
But earlier this year, Cllr Pritchard and Cllr Chris Morgan – at the time the cabinet member for waste – said there was no other option if Caerphilly was to meet national recycling targets.
Currently, Welsh councils must recycle 70% of the waste they collect, but the cabinet members said they expected that figure would rise in future years, meaning action had to be taken.
In April last year, Caerphilly Council’s recycling rate was 61.3% – second bottom out of Wales’ 22 local authorities.
The council has largely avoided the looming threat of fines for recent non-compliance because it committed to a new waste strategy. This has, so far, included ‘quick wins’ such as providing free food bags to residents, as well as rule changes around enforcing the rules for persistent non-recyclers.
Those early measures are estimated to make incremental gains in the council’s recycling rates, but the council believes it is only when the depot is up and running – and the new system of kerbside sorting is brought in – that Caerphilly will catch up with other authorities.
The new depot will include a sorting area for materials and a workshop for the council’s fleet of collection lorries, and will replace existing factories on part of Ystrad Mynach’s Dyffryn Business Park.
Efficiant
Earlier this year, Plaid Cymru opposition leader Cllr Charlotte Bishop and independent group leader Cllr Nigel Dix suggested the council should look at improving its current system and educating non-recyclers instead of pinning all hopes on the new depot and system.
But following the approval of planning permission for the new depot, the council said the site will allow it to “process all kerbside recycling materials locally” and help create “a cleaner, greener and more efficient service for residents”.
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