Householders who refuse to separate out their rubbish could face tough new measures.
From February 25, Swansea Council is banning a host of items from black bag collections.
These include paper, card, cardboard, plastic pots and tubs, and glass bottles.
From February 25 waste officers will monitor properties where only black bags are being put out for collection.
If, when the bag is shaken, recyclable waste is detected, a more thorough check will be carried out and the householder will be contacted about how to recycle, with further measures following if things don't improve.
How will the black bag checks work?
A campaign is taking place before the implementation date of February 25, at which point recycling officers will start checking for households which don’t recycle.
For the majority of cases, this will be done by checking the bags’ weight and shape, and carrying out a so-called “clink” test, lifting the bag and listening for the sound of cans and bottles clinking together.
Officers will record addresses with a significant amount of recyclables in their bags, knock on the door to encourage recycling and leave a letter advising that specified recyclable materials are not permitted in black bags.
The letter will include offers of help and a leaflet, but also advise that further visits will be made.
At the next collection two weeks later officers will re-check the addresses contacted the previous time and, if no improvements have been made, issue a legal notice specifying the non-permitted materials again and advising that a fixed penalty notice could be issued for non-compliance.
On the next collection day, a final warning letter will be issued if there are no improvements.
This will lead to a fixed penalty notice being issued at the subsequent visit, if no improvements have been made.
During this process, residents who do change their behaviour will be thanked for doing so.
It's estimated that one in five households refuse to recycle their household waste, leading to higher landfill charges to the council for burying the waste.
Welsh councils need to achieve a 64% recycling rate by 2019/20, with Swansea expected to hit 63% for 2018/19.
What you can put in your green bags
Put the following items of glass & cans in one green bag:
- Bottles and jars
- Cans and tins
- Empty aerosol cans
- Aluminium foil eg wrap and trays
- Small items of metal kitchenware eg pots and pans, baking trays etc
- Metal lids
Keep the following items of paper and card in a separate green bag:
- Card
- Catalogues
- Envelopes
- Junk mail
- Magazines
- Newspaper
- Shredded Paper
- Office paper
- Yellow Pages
- Greetings cards (plain card only)
Don't include the following items in your green bags:
- Broken glass
- Cartons
- Chocolate bar wrappers
- Crisp packets
- Food contaminated paper/cardboard e.g. pizza boxes
- Kitchen paper
- Mirrors
- Oil cans
- Paper towels
- Paint tins
- Plate glass
- Pyrex
- Sharp metal objects eg cutlery, knives etc
- Tissues
- Wallpaper
- Wrapping paper
Cardboard
- Large corrugated cardboard boxes should be flattened, bundled and tied (not taped) and put out next to the green bags
- Keep large items of cardboard intact, do not rip them up in order to put them into a green bag we prefer to have large items of cardboard separate
- Use the council's recycling and rubbish collection search to find out your collection day/week
What type of cardboard won't be collected?
People are asked not to put the following items either in green bags or out loose:
- Food and drink cartons
- Cardboard that has been contaminated with food waste eg takeaway pizza boxes
What you can put in your pink recycling bag
You can put all the following items together in your reusable pink bag:
- Plastic bottles, including water bottles, milk bottles, cola bottles, shampoo bottles, etc
- Clean plastic food trays
- Loose plastic bottle tops and caps
- Plastic margarine/ice cream tubs
- Plastic yoghurt pots
Do not put any of the following items in your reusable pink bags:
- Plastic bags and carrier bags
- Bubble wrap
- Cling film
- Crisp packets and chocolate wrappers with metallised plastic (shiny) insides
- Dirty items
- Electrical or electronic items
- Film lids (such as from microwave meals)
- Larger items (such as garden furniture)
- Polystyrene
Soft plastic
Soft plastic items such as carrier bags and film are not accepted in your pink kerbside bag. If they go in any bag from home it must be the black bag.
Certain 'stretchy' soft plastic items including carrier bags, bread bags, freezer bags and bubble wrap can be recycled if taken to the dedicated banks at large supermarkets.
A recent consultation on the proposals received overwhelming support for the changes.
More than 480 people responded, with 84% in favour of tougher measures for residents who refuse to recycle their household waste.
Mark Thomas, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure management, said: “We have operated kerbside recycling services in Swansea for more than 15 years and the majority of households are taking part.
“Our ongoing surveys show that there are still residents who either refuse to recycle or do very little, opting only to use black bags.
“Residents who have yet to start recycling have plenty of time to collect recycling bags from the council so they can do the right thing and dispose of their household waste in the right way."
What to put in your food waste bin
Put the following items into your food waste bin:
- Cereals and seeds
- Cheese
- Coffee grounds, tea bags and tea leaves
- Egg shells
- Fish and meat
- Fruit and vegetable peelings
- Left over cooked food (eg rice, pasta, vegetables)
- Stale bread
- Small bones up to and including chicken carcass, lamb bone or anything left over from a typical family Sunday roast
Do not put the following items into your food waste bin:
- Card, cardboard or kitchen paper
- Large bones
What to put in your white garden waste bags
You can put the following items in your garden waste bag:
- Grass cuttings
- Hedge cuttings
- Leaves and plant matter
- Sticks and twigs
- Flowers and weeds
- Sawdust, woodchip and hay animal bedding (plant eating animals only)
- Real Christmas trees (broken up)
Do not put the following items in your garden waste bag:
- Dog and cat faeces
- Food waste
- Invasive plants eg Japanese Knotweed
- Large branches or logs
- Plastic bags
- Soil, stones or rubble
- Timber eg fences, sheds and posts
Councillor Thomas added: “It’s worth pointing out that this is not an exercise to catch people out who make simple mistakes and accidentally put recyclable waste in their black bag.
"We are not looking to penalise residents who already recycle.
"Our recycling crews have a fairly good idea which areas are low performing and it's these areas we will be concentrating on.”
What to put in your black bag
Each household is allowed to put out a maximum of three black bags every fortnight.
Only non-recyclable materials should be put in the black bags eg vacuum cleaner debris, nappies, coal ash, cat litter, crisp packets etc
Sharp objects, such as broken glass, should be wrapped up
Make sure your refuse sack is not too heavy - under 15kg
Use bags that are no larger than 80 litres.
Cllr Thomas said the council wasn't considering slashing the number of black bags households were allowed to put out - currently at three every other week.
Are there exceptions to the black bag rule?
The rules state that no cardboard or paper should be included in the black waste. But if it's used to wrap up a broken glass, such as a wine glass, that's allowed.
Pizza boxes also count as cardboard, which isn't usually allowed in black bags. But if they're contaminated by food, such as oily stains or melted-on food, they're allowed in.
Similarly, wrapping paper can't be put in for recycling. It can, however, be included in the black bag waste.
For more information on recycling, visit Swansea council's website.
