Monmouthshire plans to introduce bag recycling

Residents will recycle using bags if proposals put to Monmouthshire County Council’s Cabinet are approved on 4th November.

This would start at the end of November when the black box scheme ends and the new ‘co-mingled’ bag recycling collections start.

The ideas have been proposed after councillors asked officers to investigate the option of having more than one bag to collect recycling from.

A light red bag would be for paper and light card, and a purple bag would be used for all other recycled materials, such as cans, bottles and plastics.

The report proposes to start the new service in the Abergavenny and Monmouth areas from the 30th November and in the Chepstow, Caldicot and Magor/Undy area next year on 23rd January.

The changes proposed are part of the Council’s plans to increase recycling across the county. Whilst overall the council is in the top six councils in Wales for recycling and composting, the dry recycling (such as paper and cans) in Monmouthshire is the lowest in Wales. The new collections will be rolled out to all households, except the most remote.

If plans are accepted, residents will have a simpler system for recycling:

White starch bag (or bulky bag)
Green waste and food waste will go in a biodegradable white starch bag. Green waste consists of garden cuttings, grass clippings, hedge trimmings, vegetarian pet waste, and cardboard. This service is already available to the majority of Monmouthshire residents.

Red bag
Paper and light cardboard will go in the light red bag

Purple bag
All other recyclable materials will go in the purple bag.

Black bag
Residual & non recyclable refuse will go in black bags.

Roger Hoggins, Monmouthshire County Council’s Head of Operations said:

“In June, Cabinet asked officers to investigate the benefits of a multi-bag system, coupled with which feedback from the recycling industry and the Welsh Assembly suggests that some segregation of recycling materials will improve their value.

“Using a multi-bag system rather than a single ‘co-mingled’ bag retains the convenience of a bag system but offers better quality recyclates.”

The move will mean that the ‘co-mingled’ bags will be introduced as planned but the system will use an extra bag that sorts paper and card from other recycling material. Officers have found that this increases the value of the paper they collect but gives residents the convenience of not having to separate all recyclable material.

Roger Hoggins continued:

“We have looked at alternatives and recognised that the majority of councils in Wales, including the best performing authority, now provide a household dry recycling service using what is known as a ‘co-mingled bag system’.

“Often this is a single bag, collected weekly, that contains all recycling materials. We will be introducing two bags to improve the quality of the materials collected. The bags are collected together and taken to a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) where the contents are sorted and processed.

“When the bags are delivered to households they will include a leaflet with guidance on what goes in each bag.”

"The system will use an extra bag that sorts paper and card from other recycling material. Officers have found that this increases the value of the paper they collect but gives residents the convenience of not having to separate all recyclable material."

“We think that this will increase the amount we recycle. We know that some residents are committed and passionate about recycling whilst others are willing to recycle but want the system must be convenient and easy to use.

“It’s been a hit in our local trial of co-mingled sacks where residents told us they find it simple and easy to use. Other authorities that have changes to a co-mingled service have consistently seen an improvement in their dry recycling performance.”