This week marks Zero Waste Week and Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is asking its residents to look at how they could go waste free today and every day.
Every time you place an item into your black bag waste, consider if it could be given a new lease of life or whether next time you buy the product you could look at a less wasteful option?
RCT Council offers a wide range of recycling services at the kerbside, from dry recycling, food waste recycling to nappy recycling – only 20% of your overall household waste should be placed into your black bag waste.
Together let’s consider how we can all reduce our overall household waste – could we buy loose fruit and take a reusable to the supermarket? Or maybe go to a re-fill shop with our empty glass coffee jar?
Over 59,900 tonnes of recycling was collected across Rhondda Cynon Taf, from April 2021 to April 2022 which includes over 12,300 tonnes of food waste – that’s over 18,050 recycling vehicles (4tonnes) full of recyclable materials!
Zero waste often starts when we’re shopping – so why not, up your waste reducing efforts and look at what you place into your basket – this can be even harder when ordering online, but its these simple processes that help us to reduce our overall household waste.
Councillor Ann Crimmings, Cabinet Member for Environment, Leisure & Culture, said:
“The efforts of RCT residents continue to be amazing, but if we could tighten our environmental belts, so to speak, just a little bit more we could save money and hopefully a few more tonnes (of household waste) then that would be a win, win all round – not just for RCT, but globally as we all look to make simple changes to reduce climate change and our weekly shopping bills.
“Recycling is a key priority for the Council and will play a pivotal role in helping the Council achieve its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. The next Welsh Government recycling target for this Council is the 2024/2025 target of 70%. If we can maintain this performance and improve slightly we are well on course to achieve this considerably earlier than we need to. It is hoped that the many provisions we have in RCT, which includes the MRF at Bryn Pica will go a long way in taking us over the target and towards our own target of 80% by 2024/25.
“We can only do this with the support of our residents and I would ask that if every resident could recycle just one more thing and look at what they put in their bins, then together this new target is achievable and will show how making changes locally can help us to make a difference globally.”
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council provides a FREE general, food, nappy and green recycling collection service to over 110,000 properties.
In addition to the Council’s kerbside recycling services the Council also boasts a number of dedicated Community Recycling Centres.
Don’t forget to sort out your recycling in to paper, cardboard, glass, metal etc before you visit the centres as they will no longer accept bags of mixed recycling.
These are based in the following locations across the County Borough:
- Ty Amgen, Llwydcoed CF44 0BX
- Cymmer Road, Dinas CF39 9BL
- Treherbert Industrial Estate, CF42 5HZ
- North Road, Ferndale CF43 4RS
- Treforest Industrial Estate CF37 5TT
- Llantrisant 100% Recycling Centre CF72 8YT
All of these facilities will cater for all recycling needs, including white goods, cardboard, clothing, plastics, light fittings, wood, glass, metal, engine oil, fluorescent tubes, plasterboards, old toys, paint, tyres, old tv’s, batteries and lots more, including Christmas trees.
All centres are manned and the attendants are happy to advise residents on recycling and assist them in disposing of their household material.
ALL Community Recycling Centres are open 7 days a week, from 8am-7.30pm (summer opening hours) and allow small vans and trailers alongside cars to dispose of items. A number of strict guidelines are in place for site visitors and these are likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future – more details are available at www.rctcbc.gov.uk/CRCsRules.
In addition to the Community Recycling Centres there are also THREE reuse shops based in each area of Rhondda, Cynon and Taf – with the recent addition of the Shed, shop in Aberdare town centre. The three re-use shops ‘The-Shed’ are NOW open for donations and browsing.
Tissues, wipes - cleaning or personals, face masks, gloves or any other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be placed in your black bag waste – if anyone in your household has symptoms of coronavirus these items should also be double bagged and put out after 72 hours.
Residents are reminded that they can put out an unlimited number of clear recycling bags, but black bag/wheelie bin waste is limited to 2 black bags or 1 wheelie bin (lid must close).
For more details and tips on recycling in RCT, visit www.rctcbc.gov.uk/recycling or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Posted on 08/09/2022