Caerphilly County Borough Council are on a mission to boost recycling rates and work has been ongoing to help further improve the quality of recyclable materials collected at kerbside.

In a Cabinet meeting, which took place on Wednesday 18th October 2023, Members agreed to the implementation of an enhanced education and engagement process which incorporates letters, home visits and the option to serve legal notice on persistent offenders of kerbside recycling contamination.

Whilst the existing kerbside recycling method results in the capture of significant dry recycling tonnage, there are currently high levels of contamination within the borough’s brown recycling bins, with almost a quarter of all material collected at the kerbside for recycling not able to be processed as recycling.

Since the introduction of the enhanced contamination enforcement process in February 2024, the Council has issued fixed penalty notices to 19 residents for persistently contaminating their recycling bin by putting the wrong type of material in the recycling bins provided.

Cllr Chris Morgan, Cabinet Member for Waste, Leisure & Green spaces said: “Whilst fining our residents for not recycling correctly is not a step that we as a Council wanted to take, it is something we felt was necessary in the few cases where residents are persistently contaminating their recycling by putting things in the wrong bins despite further engagement and education directly with them.

“It is important to note that fixed penalty notices are issued as a last resort, to residents who have been contacted multiple times with regards to the content of their bins.

“We are hopeful that this new process will work as a deterrent to residents who are knowingly using their recycling bins incorrectly and diminishing the work of those residents who are consistently doing the right thing.”