Residents recycle extra 425 tonnes of waste over festive period

More than 400 extra tonnes of waste were recycled by Bridgend county borough residents over Christmas compared to the year before.

Compared to the festive period in 2019, residents put an extra 424.77 tonnes of material out for recycling, with a lot more cardboard, glass and food waste in particular.

This means that for the main collection crews, which are managed by Bridgend County Borough Council’s waste partners Kier, each operative collected, on average, 2.5 tonnes of recycling each day.

Kier’s operations manager Leeann Neagle said: “Each crew went above and beyond to ensure the residents of Bridgend received their collections on time over the Christmas period. I’m really happy about how well it went, and proud of the team.”

Deputy Leader Hywel Williams said: “I’m very grateful to our waste and recycling collection crews who continue to work hard through the pandemic.

“Thanks also to residents for all of their efforts in helping us to recycle as much waste as possible during these difficult times. I hope that you continue to do so this year.”

With more people being at home over the festive period, the amount of refuse collected was also higher with an extra 410.46 tonnes compared to 2019. This is an average of 4.08 tonnes collected per day by each operative in the main refuse collection crews.

Registration is now open for Bridgend County Borough Council’s garden waste collection service which is returning this spring.

Garden waste is picked up every two weeks and collections will run from 15 March 2021 until 12 November 2021. Your garden waste collection day will be advised with the delivery of your sacks.

Subscriptions are £38.30, or £34.30 for pensioners. Additional bags cost £5 each. To sign up, visit the Recycle for Bridgend website.

If someone in your household is showing coronavirus symptoms, wipes used to clean surfaces and tissues should be double bagged using plastic bags and put aside for 72 hours before going into the blue waste bag.

To help keep refuse collection crews safe, please do not put any tissues, kitchen roll, toilet paper or wipes in your recycling bags.

Residents are also kindly asked to wipe down the handles of their waste and recycling containers.

Visit the council’s recycling and waste webpage for more information about collections.