New figures show Carmarthenshire had the greatest overall reduction in the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill in 2008/09.
The county was also well under its target for the amount of biodegradable waste – which includes paper, cardboard, kitchen scraps and garden cuttings – that can be landfilled.
The figures have been released by Environment Agency Wales as part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Landfill Allowances Scheme (LAS) which limits the amount of biodegradable waste councils are allowed to send to landfill.
The purpose of the scheme is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and to encourage recycling and composting.
During 2008/09 Carmarthenshire sent 29,625 tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste to landfill – which is well under its allowance of 40,398 tonnes and a reduction of 28 per cent compared to the previous year.
Waste bosses at Carmarthenshire County Council have welcomed the figures which show the success of the green bin/blue bag scheme which has been rolled out to 65,000 homes since February 2007.
Director of technical services Richard Workman said: “It is important that we reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill by recycling and composting more of our waste.
“The green bin/blue bag scheme has been extremely successful and we are planning to extend it to a further rollout 10,000 homes in November.
“This means 75,000 homes in Carmarthenshire will benefit from kerbside recycling by the end of the year.
“I would like to thank residents’ for helping us to achieve this target and urge them to keep up the good work.”
Any council which fails to meet its landfill targets – which are set to get harder every year – could incur fines of £200 per tonne.
Executive board member for the environment Councillor Haydn Jones said: “It is vital we reduce the amount of rubbish we send to landfill, not only is it the least sustainable method of managing our waste but failure to meet future targets will result in financial penalties running into millions of pounds.
“Reducing the amount of waste going to landfill also helps to cut greenhouse gas emissions, by working together we can make a real difference and improve our environment for future generations.”
