Problem
In 2019-20, Vale of Glamorgan Council achieved a 70% recycling rate, surpassing Wales’ statutory target of recycling a minimum of 64% of waste that year and securing its position as one of the top areas in Wales for recycling.
Despite this success, the Council identified that a small but growing number of residents were including non-recyclable materials, such as nappies, food waste and cat litter, in their co-mingled recycling bins. This contamination was leading to entire recycling loads being rejected at processing centres. This not only negatively impacts the Council’s overall recycling rate but also causes financial losses and increased emissions associated with alternative disposal options.
To prevent further impact, the Council sought ways to improve the quality of recyclable materials collected at the kerbside by increasing the level of separation of materials at source.
Solution
To enhance the quality of materials collected from the kerbside, Vale of Glamorgan Council introduced a phased rollout of a new approach to recycling. The service change to Welsh Government’s recommended service profile for the collection of household waste, the Collections Blueprint, took place between 2019 and 2023. This transition enabled households to separate recyclable materials more effectively, providing cleaner waste streams suitable for reprocessing into high-quality materials.
Residents were instructed to separate their waste into the following waste streams, which are all collected separately:
- Food waste
- Glass bottles and jars
- Mixed metals, plastics, and food and drink cartons
- Cardboard
- Paper
- Household batteries
- Small waste electrical and electronic equipment (sWEEE)
- Garden waste
- Non-recyclable waste
To educate and enforce correct material separation, a sticker rejection policy was introduced. Containers with incorrectly sorted recycling were rejected at the kerbside and marked with stickers, providing clear feedback on the materials that could and could not be recycled. This feedback system is key to educating residents to improve recycling practices and ensure the materials collected remain high-quality and suitable for processing.
Education and engagement played a key role in the success of these changes. The Council distributed a detailed information booklet to all homes illustrating the correct recycling practices, while a team of Recycling Officers provided direct guidance and support to residents through community engagement and doorstep visits.
Impact
The actions taken by the Council yielded valuable environmental and financial outcomes. Key results of the implemented changes included:
- Maintaining a 70% recycling rate: The comprehensive separation of materials at source, meant that the Council has been achieving the high recycling rate consistently since 2019/20.
- A significant reduction in the contamination rate of collected recycling: Before opting for the separation of materials at source and sticker rejection policy, the Council noted a 15% contamination rate that has now decreased to under 1%.
- Collection of higher quality feedstock for reprocessors: The Council can provide treatment facilities with larger quantities of good quality material ensuring materials remain in use and is diverted from energy from waste.
- Changes to residents' recycling behaviours: The Council noticed a significant improvement in the quality of recycling presented for collection in areas where bins were marked with rejection stickers.
- Cost efficiencies: Before the change to separating materials at source, co-mingled material gate fees cost the Council up to £120 per tonne, resulting in an excess of £1.5M per annum. The Council now receives an income for the separated materials.
The measures introduced by Vale of Glamorgan Council successfully improved the quality of recyclables collected and reinforced the Council’s position as a leading area in Wales for recycling.