New Green Waste Collections Begin

Written by on 1st November 2021

As COP26 begins in Glasgow, so does the launch of the new Green Waste Recycling scheme in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

From today, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council will only collect green waste recycling from registered households who place their green waste out for collections in their new, reusable, green waste sacks.

The green waste recycling scheme was reviewed as part of the Council’s ongoing commitment to climate change and recycling – The introduction of new sustainable and reusable green sacks will see the Council reduce its overall plastic usage by around 3Million Clear bags annually.

In addition to this the Council has asked its residents to register for the service so that the crews can avoid unnecessary journeys and reduce the Council’s overall carbon footprint.

Over 34,000 households have now registered for the scheme and almost 70,000 sacks have been delivered – it is estimated that almost 70% of their green waste recycling residents are now signed up and are ready for the new collections.

Green waste recycling will return to fortnightly collections from today (1st November) and will follow residents black bag/bin collections days. The changes have been introduced today as demand for the garden/green waste service is often lower in the winter months. This will ensure that residents have time to register and get familiar with the changes before the weekly, busier collections resume in the Spring and Summer months (14th March 2022).

Residents can still register for the FREE service quick and easily online at www.rctcbc.gov.uk/BrandNewBag. If you do not have access to online services you can call 01443 425001, between 08.30am and 5pm Monday to Friday. Residents will then receive their TWO FREE re-usable sacks to start green waste recycling.

Extra/replacement sacks are available but will be subject to a £3 charge per sack. This charge covers the cost of the sack only.

In 2020 the Council collected over 8,200 tonnes of green waste from residents!

Residents are being reminded to clearly label their sacks and that each sack is registered to an individual property and that the Council will only collect the number of sacks that are registered to a property. Crews will be making every effort to return the sacks to properties as securely as possible.

If a resident consistently fails to put any green waste out for collection for 12 collections in a row (around 29 weeks in winter, 12 weeks in summer), they may be removed from the collection list and may need to re-register to continue to use the scheme.

The fortnightly green waste collection service (including ‘real’ Christmas trees not booked for a collection) will be suspended from Friday 24th December with normal services resuming on Monday 17th January 2022. Your green waste however including Christmas trees can still be taken to your local CRC (unbagged) throughout the festive period.

The new sacks can be used for green waste, such as grass, cuttings, twigs cut to a manageable size and small vegetarian animal waste. The Council WON’T collect soil, rubble, clodges or wood as part of this collection. Animal waste should only include sawdust/hay and not other animal waste such as dog waste and cat litter. The sacks MUST NOT be overfilled.

Green/garden waste can still be taken to one of the many Community Recycling Centres (CRCs) across Rhondda Cynon Taf, but it MUST NOT be in a clear recycling bag and tipped loose into the available container. All CRCs are now operating under winter opening hours – 8am to 5.30pm

In 2020 the Council collected over 8,200 tonnes of green waste from residents – this equates to 2,739,000 full recycling bags being collected.

Steve Owen, Service Director for Streetcare Services said:

“I would like to thank residents for signing up to the scheme and joining us in our fight against Climate Change. The changes to the green waste collection service will help reduce the Council’s carbon footprint and bring us closer to our goal of recycling 80% of all household waste by 2024/25.

“This small change will improve the quality of the recycling we produce and make a huge difference, ultimately leading us to a full circular economy. I hope that residents will continue to join us by recycling as much as they can, to make a difference not just locally, but globally.

“The new improved service will now use the latest in-cab technology to improve collection routes and allow for an automated service.”

For further information please visit www.rctcbc.gov.uk/BrandNewBag, email recycling@rctcbc.gov.uk, call 01443 425001 or follow the Council on Facebook/Twitter.


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