Monthly bins could be introduced to avoid £200k fine

Welshpool residents could see their black bins reduced to a monthly collection after it was revealed that Powys County Council could face a £200,000 fine if it misses strict Welsh Government recycling targets.

A public consultation has been launched on a draft new Powys Sustainable Resource Strategy (2025-2030) released by Powys County Council in response to Welsh Government demands that councils up their recycling targets to 70%.

Powys currently stands at 68%, up from 66% two years ago, but if it doesn’t reach the Senedd mark, a fine-per tonnage missed will be handed out and that works out at around £100,000 per percentage point.

We’ve waded through the 23-page plan, and under the Household Kerbside Collections segment there is a line that states: ‘Explore options to reduce the frequency or capacity of residual household waste, to encourage greater use of the weekly kerbside service. When making any changes to the collection of residual waste, we will continue to support household that have and will continues to need additional capacity.’

Black bins for general waste are currentrly collected every three weeks in Powys, but monthly collections have been introduced by some councils across the country.

It is a comprehensive plan with a wide-ranging list of actions that will see Wales become potentially the world’s best recycling nation.

The consultation, with a link included to the draft plan, can be accessed here

What Cllr Jackie Charlton, Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys at Powys County Council says:

“When developing strategies, it is important to involve our stakeholders in the process.

“We are particularly keen to find out how people currently reduce, reuse and recycle their waste. We would also like to know how people would like to be supported by the council to reduce more of their waste, reuse more items and recycle more in the future.

“It is also important that we find out if people agree with the draft strategy’s priorities and if there is anything else people could suggest to help reduce our environmental impact, lower our carbon footprint, move towards a sustainable circular economy and ensure a greener future for all.

“Everyone of us can make a positive difference and our stakeholders’ voices will help ensure the strategy is clear, comprehensive, feasible, and supported by the community and influence future decisions and service provision across Powys.”