The change to weekly recycling and food waste collection has been in place since September 12th this year and the vast majority of Cardiff residents have adapted extremely well with recycling and participation rates rising. However there are pockets of Cardiff where incorrectly presented waste is a problem.
Letters went out city-wide in November targeting areas where the incorrect presentation of waste has continued to be a problem 3 months into the new weekly recycling collection service. The letters set out every householder’s responsibility to place the correct waste in their bins and bags.
There was a good response but there remains a small hardcore of households that are still proving problematic. These households are now facing a formal warning and unless action is taken, a formal notice will be sent out to the named householders and they will be fined.
The fining of residents is very much a last resort. The Council, wherever possible, seeks to educate and inform residents of what waste to put out and when. We operate a tidy text service where residents can freely subscribe and receive a weekly text to remind people what to present for collection. We also have Environmental Champions going out in student areas helping to educate those who returned after the changes were implemented and our website, www.cardiff.gov.uk, has full details of all waste collections in the city.
Executive Member for Environment, Cllr Margaret Jones, “The Council has done everything possible to ensure all residents have the necessary information to put the correct waste in the correct bags and bins out on the appropriate day. Most residents have responded extremely positively and should be proud. However, we must tackle those that fail to heed information and warnings. We have a free text service, placed many articles in the press and Capital Times, placed all information on our website, put posters and leaflets out all over the city and held road shows as well as gone out onto the streets to talk to residents. There really is no excuse now for not complying with the new service and not complying often creates a mess and hazards for everyone else. The message is simple, get informed, keep your city clean and avoid a fine.”
