Auditors claim council ‘does not understand’ why it’s missing recycling targets

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

A council does not understand why its recycling rate is missing national targets as it faces a potential fine of more than £750,000.

That is the conclusion of an Audit Wales report into Wrexham County Borough Council’s struggle to get to grips with its waste recycling performance.

The report also reveals that Wrexham has the most expensive waste services in Wales.

Wrexham County Borough Council’s Governance and Audit Committee is due to review the report on Wednesday, July 15.

According to the report Wrexham is missing the current recycling target set by Welsh Government – that 70% of all household waste must be recycled by local authorities.

It missed its 2024/25 target by 3,769 tonnes – with Audit Wales calculating it can expect an infraction charge from Welsh Government of £753,948.

According to the report, the reason the authority is struggling to make real improvements is a lack of understanding around why recycling rates are so poor.

“The council does not have a solid evidence base to support its suggested explanations for the drops in recycling rates between 2016-17 and 2023/24, ” it said.

“These include changes in resident habits, seasonal effects and strike action. For example, when charges for green waste were introduced, it was thought this might be a factor, but the data shows green waste recycling has since returned to earlier levels.

“Since the council’s understanding is mainly based on anecdotal evidence and staff opinions that sometimes differ, it may struggle to take the most effective actions to improve recycling rates and may have difficulty meeting statutory targets.”

Audit Wales has flagged that recycling rates in the County Borough have been in decline since 2016.

Between 2019/2020 and 2023/24, Wrexham went from being the fifth best region in Wales for recycling with 69.6% to the fourth worst with 63.8%.

“The council has a communications plan in place and regularly engages with residents on temporary changes to collection dates successfully,” said the report.

“However, residents continue to fill residual waste (black) bins with recyclable material and the service currently lacks an adopted strategic approach to improving its recycling performance.

“Other councils in a similar position to Wrexham have improved performance and implemented service change through a variety of approaches, such as changing collection frequency, implementing enforcement measures and increasing food waste capacity.”

One such authority is neighbouring Flintshire, which has provisionally achieved the 70% target and had a number of infraction fines quashed by the Welsh Government as a result.

The report also reveals that Wrexham has the most expensive waste services in the country, spending £393 per household – £109 more than the next nearest authority – Torfaen.

“The council’s Private Finance Initiative (PFI) arrangement to fund its waste service makes it difficult to identify the cost-effectiveness of the service – and for the council to compare its cost-effectiveness against that of other councils,” said auditors.

“The contract runs until 2038 and the council reviews the cost and performance annually.

“Evidence from the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) suggests that Wrexham’s waste service is currently the most expensive in Wales. However, some of the cost data includes elements from its PFI agreement.

“The council has started the process of trying to develop comparable costs for its service that can be benchmarked with other councils.”

The report accepts that Wrexham has a plan to reverse its waste problem – but expressed doubt over its effectiveness.

“The council has previously been able to meet national recycling targets, but currently its strategies and plans lack clarity and detail,” it stated.

“While there is a Council Plan (2023-2028) and a Decarbonisation Plan with an ambition to reach 70% recycling by 2025, these documents do not set out how this will be achieved.

“During our fieldwork, the council did not have a fully costed action plan to support service change and improvement. If the strategy is not fully costed, it could lead to missed goals and opportunities for improvement.”

Auditors did offer some hope however, praising Wrexham Council’s efforts to meet its obligations regarding non-domestic waste.

“The council has taken steps to comply with new national rules on nondomestic waste, which began in April 2024,” they said.

“Evidence shows the council complies with the regulations, which means business and public buildings are included in their service. This means the council has mitigated the risk of receiving penalties for non-compliance and can build on these changes for further improvement.

“Developing a strategic approach to engagement to support waste and recycling service changes could improve the council’s ability to positively impact recycling rates and overall service performance.”