Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Food Waste Scheme Receives £3.1m Funding
October 15, 2007
A Welsh Assembly Government grant of more than £3.1million is being made available to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s innovative scheme to recycle food and kitchen waste.
Following Ministerial praise the project, which was pioneered by the Council’s Streetcare Team (Waste) and has already been introduced to Trealaw, Llwydcoed and Brynna received the largest grant throughout Wales.
The money has been awarded for the purchase of a fleet of eleven specialized Dennis Eagle transport vehicles designed to specifically collect food waste and their use throughout Rhondda Cynon Taf and its neighbouring authority of Merthyr Tydfil. It will also be used for food waste recycling bins and caddies for the benefit of all residents in the county borough.
Rhondda Cynon Taf and its partner Merthyr Tydfil County Council received the grant jointly as both local authorities used the same recycling plant for food waste, which can be recycled to produce compost.
The Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, Jane Davidson AM announced that a series of schemes will share a total of £14million as part of a two-year programme to boost recycling across Wales.
All Welsh authorities were invited to make joint applications for projects through a grant scheme established to support investment in plant and equipment for sustainable waste management.
The Minister Jane Davidson AM said: “These substantial grants demonstrate the government’s commitment to tackling the issue of waste, which is a key element in our efforts to deal with climate change.
“We also hope these scheme will be another boost to the good work already being done by local authorities to meet our ambitious targets for recycling and diversion from landfill.”
Recycling in the county borough has more than doubled in the last three years, with a massive investment in a new plant, community recycling points, new refuse collections vehicles and innovative ways to promote recycling, including the roll out of kerbside and food waste recycling.
Landfill capacity in South East Wales is reducing every year and legislation from Europe requires all local authorities to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste that they send to landfill. To reduce the quantity of waste sent to landfill the Welsh Assembly Government has set targets for recycling and composting.
To date Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has exceeded these targets and remains well on course to reach the goal of recycling 40% of all waste by 2009 / 2010.
The Minister added that Rhondda Cynon Taf was an excellent example of good practice in the field of recycling. During her visit to the Bryn Pica Community Recycling Plant near Llwydcoed, where she announced the successful funding bids, she explained: “I like the methods used by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council for two very good reasons.
“Firstly, the authority does all it possibly can to encourage residents to recycle everything and I think this is an incredibly important series of initiatives.
“Secondly, they make recycling as easy as possible. The weekly kerbside recycling is also an opportunity to recycle food waste as well as the usual recyclable waste.
“We find that within the county borough the vast majority of bags now placed out are filled with recyclable materials. This is incredibly important because we must radically reduce the quantity of waste going to landfill, which is why grants like this are made available to encourage and educate more people on the importance of recycling.”
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Better Public Services Cllr Eudine Hanagan who attended the Minister’s visit to Bryn Pica said: “The news that our funding application is successful has come as a huge boost for every resident throughout the county borough.
“We have made a policy decision not to incinerate waste within Rhondda Cynon Taf, therefore, recycling and composting are important processes to help deliver UK and European targets. Food waste forms 30% of the average Rhondda Cynon Taf refuse bin contents
“Between April 1st 2006 and March 31st 2007 we recycled 33,238 tonnes of material compared to just 4,200 tonnes in 1999/2000. This is over 26% of the waste we collected. This year alone we have seen this figure rise to 30%. We now recycle almost eight times the amount of waste we recycled seven years ago.
“Our food waste scheme is currently being trialed in three communities and is reaching a phenomenal amount of people. With residents help we now expect to recycle 40,000 tonnes in 2007/08 but there will still be another 41,000 tonnes we could recycle.
“Thanks to this investment and a proactive approach, we have risen from one of the worst recyclers in Wales in 2004 to one of the best in 2007. Thanks to the funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, this success story will continue.”
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