Council leader dismisses rumours of four-weekly bin collections

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

Rumours that a city council is considering switching to four-weekly bin collections have been dismissed by the leader of the local authority.

The leader of Newport Council,  Jane Mudd,  said the city “doesn’t need to” make changes to its waste and recycling system, because it is “well on track” to meet “rigorous and robust” Welsh Government recycling targets.

‘Talk’

Bettws councillor Kevin Whitehead raised the matter in the council chamber on Tuesday (April 23), telling the leader there had been “some talk” among residents “regarding bin collections going to four-weekly”.

“Can you either confirm or deny this rumour, to put it to bed?” he asked.

Cllr Mudd acknowledged the topic of refuse collection “is something residents and communities are very interested in”.

“We’ve seen a number of local authorities in Wales actually consider moving to four weeks, and we know that some of them have done so,” she explained.

“I can confirm at this point in time, we’re not having those discussions in Newport with regard to four-weekly collections.”

Cllr Mudd added: “Newport doesn’t need to move to a four-weekly refuse collection cycle, because we are well on track for meeting our recycling targets.

“These are really rigorous recycling targets that are set by the Welsh Government.

“I’m really pleased to say that Newport is well on track for doing that, and I’d like to say a huge thank you, on behalf of the authority, to all of our households who work really hard… to ensure they recycle and manage their refuse correctly.”

Benchmark

Newport moved from fortnightly to three-weekly collections for non-recyclable waste in 2023, and the Welsh Government will soon raise the benchmark for recycling rates nationwide.

Councils will have to recycle 70% of their waste from the end of this financial year, up from 64% last year.

Any local authorities which fail to meet those new targets could end up facing hefty fines.

The latest Welsh Government figures showed Newport recycled 65.2% of its waste in the 2022/23 financial year.

The government also brought in new rules for Welsh businesses in April, meaning firms now have to separate recyclable materials in the same way as most households.

Newport leader Cllr Mudd also praised the “outstanding efforts that our businesses are making since the legislation changed”.