Recycling: Council gets £500k booster

Powys County Council has welcomed news that the authority is to receive £500,000 to improve recycling facilities at its depots.

The county council has been awarded the money as part of a £5.75m Welsh Government investment to help improve recycling services across Wales.

It comes at a time when the council has faced criticism from some residents who are annoyed with new guidelines on what can and can’t be recycled these days.

Powys Cabinet Member for Recycling, Councillor John Powell said: “We are delighted to be awarded the money which will be invested in new recycling bulking and baling facilities at our depots.

“The council recently announced an increase in recycling rates with figures for May showing a 67 per cent recycling rate well above the statutory targets for this year. However, we cannot be complacent and need to do more to maintain theses rates and ensure we achieve an annual rate of 64 per cent.

“The funding announced by the Welsh Government is very much welcomed and will help us invest in new baling equipment which will reduce the amount of haulage required, increase the income we generate from material collected at the kerbside and help maintain recycling rates.”

Wales already has the highest municipal recycling rate in the UK and would be in the top four in Europe if it were separately reported.

The Welsh Government has stated that it wants Wales to have the highest national municipal recycling rate in the world with the ultimate ambition of achieving a ‘carbon neutral Wales by 2020’.