Fines for people who don’t present their waste and recycling properly in Merthyr Tydfil could happen sooner than they currently do. The council is considering moving from a three-stage to a two-stage process when it comes to enforcement on the incorrect presentation of waste and recycling meaning potential £300 fines could happen sooner than they do now.
Under the current system when a household offends the first time a red tag is placed on the bin telling the resident that they have not complied with waste collection policy through the incorrect presentation of their waste and recycling on their collection day. A letter is also sent to the property explaining the need to recycle as much waste as possible and how to do so.
If there is a second offence on other collection days then a red tag is again placed on the bin and a section 46 notice is sent to the resident. This relates to section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 on the incorrect presentation of waste.
If an offence is committed a third time then a red tag is again placed on the bin and a fine of £300 is delivered to the householder and failure to pay the fine may result in prosecution. The proposal, if agreed by councillors would remove the initial letter stage from the process so the first offence would result in a section 46 notice being served instead.
A report to full council on Wednesday, January 8, says reducing the number of stages in the enforcement process should result in higher recycling rates and lower residual waste collected as well as a potential increase in income. It said that in order to achieve Welsh Government`s increased recovery target of 70% the number of of households in the county borough that recycle or only partially recycle “has to improve”. To get all the latest Merthyr Tydfil news straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
It said the current enforcement procedure is judged to be effective so far but needs to change to further encourage residents to comply with the enforcement policy and help achieve the new Welsh Government target. The report said it was anticipated the number of fines served should increase when the first educational stage is removed and better public compliance in the recycling service should be realised due to the potential fine stage happening sooner.
It said that the main driver for this policy change was to achieve the recovery target but it would also have the benefit of increasing income from additional recyclables as well as reducing the cost of sending residual waste to energy from waste (EFW). Based on 2023-24 annual data the council could have generated £42,300 by removing the first stage of the enforcement process.
The figures show total income from the three-stage process was £4,800 but it could have been £42,300 with a two-stage process. The report said the level of impact will rely significantly on the public`s reaction as if the levels of non-compliance remain the same then the increased income should be realised.
And if the public comply more due to the threat of quicker enforcement of offenders then the recycling income and savings on reduced residual waste treatment will be realised along with the improvement in the recycling target. The report said that the most likely outcome is a combination of both scenarios.
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