Separate glass recycling could be introduced
RESIDENTS across Cardiff could soon have to separate glass bottles and jars from the rest of their recycling, if new plans go ahead.
Cardiff council is in the early stages of planning to roll out separate glass collections across the whole of the city, following a successful trial which started in 2018.
Separating glass at the kerbside is more cost effective for the council, safer for workers sorting recycling, and better for the environment.
Matt Wakelam, the council’s assistant director of Street Scene, said rolling out separate glass collections would “probably be my next project”, following the current upcoming changes to which days bins are collected for around 85,000 homes.
He revealed the upcoming plans to councillors on the environmental scrutiny committee on Tuesday. The plans are at an early stage and have not yet been confirmed.
Mr Wakelam said: “It is something we’ll be looking to roll out following the fourday working. We’re looking at the benefits to the material recovery facility, where we hand sort material at the moment.
“If we can separate that out, it does two things: it improves the quality of the material, which gives us better prices and less waste; and it improves health and safety and the working conditions for those who are sorting.”
Currently, the mixed glass costs the council £35 a tonne to get rid of, whereas separated glass bottles and jars could be sold for £20 a tonne, making an income for the council.
Separate glass collections have been trialed for around 17,000 homes, where residents were given blue bins to put their empty bottles and jars in.
Mr Wakelam said: “Letters have been sent out to residents to explain how successful the trial was. We had very few complaints about the glass collection.
“We use specially insulated vehicles, but obviously it is a noisy collection. But we have had limited concerns from residents.”
Elsewhere, residents could soon be able to put general waste in black bin bags, rather than having to use the red and white striped bags at the moment.
The council introduced the rules that residents can only use red and white striped bags for general waste to try to limit the amount people threw away, and increase the amount they recycled.
But when residents run out of red and white striped bags, they are difficult to get more of, especially during Covid times. The bags also cost the council to buy and give out.
These changes are also at an early stage and have not yet been confirmed.
Mr Wakelam said: “We think we should be more trusting of the residents, and through our monitoring we should be able to enable residents to just use black bags, and we’ll trust them to put out the number of bags, two or three bags.
“Obviously if someone puts out 10 bags then we would have to notify environmental enforcement.
“We have to move away from having these issues with red and white bags when we have Covid, and we have to be more trusting of our residents. Those residents who don’t work with us, we’ll have to work with environmental enforcement.
“We are one of the only local authorities that have this bag system for terraced properties.
“The bags cost the council money, and the distribution of the bags is very costly as well – probably more costly than the bags.
“And it’s an inconvenience for the residents to go and have to get those bags. I can imagine how painful it is to have to get these bags and when you’ve run out of bags. There are more issues related with the red and white bags than what we’ve gained.”