Senior councillors consider further reduction of black bin collections

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

Black bin bags could be collected every four weeks from people’s homes, just a year after the switch to three-weekly collections.

Black bags were collected every two weeks in Carmarthenshire until last year when it was reduced to three weeks along with more recycling options.

This change has led to recycling and composting rates increasing to just over 70% but the Welsh Government wants less waste sent to landfill or for incineration and more of it recycled.

A report going before the council’s cabinet said analysis of back bag waste continued to find that a sizeable proportion of it, such as food waste, could be recycled, and that the current system would not meet an anticipated 80% recycling target by 2030.

Necessity

“The move to a four-weekly collection is a necessity to encourage residents to prioritise recycling and waste reduction practices,” said the report.

A four-weekly black bag collection would not come into force before June 2026 and would be part of a significant reorganisation of the service. Other potential changes include:

– Nine new electric refuse lorries, adding to the three already in use

– A centralised waste depot at Nantycaws, near Carmarthen, including a new “modular” building which would need planning permission

– A four-day working week for waste collection staff, with travel expenses paid for a year for those who’d have to drive further to get to Nantycaws than they do currently to other depots in the county

– Separate weekly collections of glass, paper, cardboard, cans, plastic, food waste, textiles and batteries. Residents would put cans and plastic together in containers; paper and cardboard in separate containers; food waste in existing caddies; glass in existing back boxes; and textiles and batteries in separate containers.

Funding

The cabinet report said the changes had been earmarked for autumn 2025 but that this had slipped by nearly a year because of how long it was taking to order and take receipt of electric refuse lorries.

Delaying it any further, it said, could risk £15.5 million of Welsh Government funding for the service overhaul. The project would also need a council contribution of £9.9 million, but would be expected to cost nearly £2.5 million less per year to operate than the current collection system as well as being more environmentally-friendly.

Trade unions and waste collection staff have been appraised of the proposals, with a majority of staff supporting a four-day working week. But concerns were raised about a centralised depot and increased travel distance and costs. The cabinet report said waste chiefs would continue to meet trade unions regularly if the depot is centralised. Cabinet is due to make a decision on the proposals on Monday, July 29.

Two of Wales’s 22 councils have four-weekly black bag collections, 10 have three-weekly ones and 10 have fortnightly ones, but nine councils are considering four-weekly collections.

The back bag limit in Carmarthenshire is three bags per three weeks, and there is no indication in the cabinet report that this limit would change.

“Evidence from Conwy Council suggests a significant increase in recycling rates (11.5%) and decrease in residual waste (12%) with a four-weekly collection system,” said the report.