The Welshpool area is still among the best recyclers in the world, the latest figures have confirmed.
Stats Wales confirms that we officially recycle at a rate of 63.05%, with Wales fourth as a whole on the global list behind Germany, Austria and South Korea. However, the actual rate is just above the Welsh Government target of 64%, but a clerical error meant that this round of figures was recorded slightly lower.
You all deserve a huge slice of the credit as just 10 years ago, we were only recycling 36.5% of our rubbish with Powys being threatened with large fines if it didn’t improve.
“The Welsh Government target of a 64% recycling rate across the country has been challenging, but as a result of some hard work and the commitment of our residents, it has been achieved, albeit not officially verified,” said Cllr Heulwen Hulme, Cabinet Member for Waste and Recycling.
“We’ve always known that Powys residents are good recyclers who take great pride in doing their bit for the environment and these latest figures confirm that the counties households are doing a great job.
“We understand how difficult things are at present for many of our residents and we are grateful for their continuous recycling efforts and their support of our crews whilst they work hard to maintain these critical services and protect our communities at this time. Thank you.”
The Wales-wide recycling targets are set out in the current Welsh Government waste strategy ‘Towards Zero Waste’, which charts a path to zero waste by 2050. Together the council and residents will be increasing efforts to meet the next target in 2024-25, when we need to recycle, reuse or compost 70% of our waste.
Over the last decade, one of the measures introduced to increase our recycling rates was to reduce the general black bin waste collections from weekly down to every three weeks.