Around 17,000 properties will be piloting a new scheme to recycle glass from their homes.
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The pilot will begin on October 15thand will run for at least 12 weeks. It will involve selected households from ten wards across the city.
Residents which will be part of this scheme will have a letter sent to their home giving initial information on the pilot from September 10thonwards.
Each household taking part will receive a new caddy and detailed leaflet from 1stOctober. The residents will be asked to put all their glass into this lockable container instead of the green bags. The glass will then be collected fortnightly on the same day as their general waste (black bin/red striped bag) collection.
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Green bags containing glass at properties on the pilot scheme will no longer be collected from 15thOctober onwards.
The pilot will assess whether collecting glass separately from other recyclable products will increase the quality of the product, reducing the cost to the council and save tax payer’s money.
Currently the green bags are taken to a recycling facility known as a Materials Reclamation Facility. The machine separates the recyclable materials by size and weight using rotating axles and conveyor belts. With the exception of the glass, the recycled material is baled and sold to be made into new products.
Through this separation process at the recycling plant, the glass is broken into small pieces but often becomes mixed with other materials. This means that the council has to pay a company to clean it before it can be recycled. The broken glass is eventually used as aggregate to build roads or used in insulation products.
Through the new collection method, the council intends to sell the glass, creating much needed income to put back into Council services. The intention is to find new markets, so that glass bottles will be made into new glass products, a process known as closed loop recycling.
Councillor Michael Michael, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets and Recycling is behind the scheme and if the pilot is successful is keen to expand it to all wards across the city.
Councillor Michael said:
“When recycling collections started in Cardiff, we were very keen to make it as easy as possible for residents by asking them to put all the materials in one container – the green bags. It has been very successful, as Cardiff is the best recycling core city in the UK.
“We now need to refine the process by collecting glass separately. We have analysed the different types of waste that residents are putting out for recycling and by volume (amount), glass only makes up a small amount of the material. Wehave carefully selected the size of the container to ensure that it is adequate for most households and when full, it is not too heavy for our waste collection staff or residents to lift.
“If there is a requirement, then an additional free glass caddy can be available for residents on the scheme. However, we’re asking residents to take part in the pilot for at least two collections to make sure that an additional caddy is required. We will take orders for these from 12thNovember 2018.
“For residents which are not part of this pilot, we still ask you to put your glass in your green bags or if you prefer to use bottle banks, that is fine as well.
“I would like to thank the residents of Cardiff, once again, for their continued efforts to recycle as much of their waste as possible. By working together we can make a difference and continue to increase the recycling rate so we can hit the recycling target of 70% by 2025.”
The wards where the pilot scheme will take place are specific streets in Canton; Ely; Grangetown; Heath; Pentwyn; Penylan; Radyr; Rhiwbina; Splott and Trowbridge. All of the streets involved on the trial can be seen here: www.cardiff.gov.uk/glasscollections
A short video explaining the reasons behind the pilot can be found at: www.cardiff.gov.uk/glasscollections
The properties chosen are based on the recycling habits in that particular area and the type of property.
