Mike Hedges urges Residents to take part in recycling as residents in Swansea face being fined £100 if they refuse to recycle.

Mike Hedges urges Residents to take part in recycling as residents in Swansea face being fined £100 if they refuse to recycle.

Bin-bag patrols have begun in Swansea as part of an effort to increase recycling rates.

Local Swansea East Assembly member, Mike Hedges, Chair of the Assembly Environment Committee said.. ‘I know people will be concerned with these new fines but if people follow the rules which have been in place for many years there ought to be no problem. The new checks are focussed on people who do not currently recycle. We need to recycle as much as possible so council’s meet the Welsh Government targets which are in place to try to minimise impacts on the environment and climate change. Analyses by the Welsh Government in 2017 showed that 50% of the material in black bags could be recycled; it is important that we reduce the amount of material which is buried in landfill.

I look forward to Swansea Council further increasing the different items which can be collected at the kerbside to include items such as tetra packs.

I am sure that once people make some small adjustments to the way they recycle the number of fines issues by Swansea Council will be small.’

Newly-appointed council officers are checking residents' household waste at the kerbside to ensure black bags do not contain recyclables such as plastics, paper or glass.

Black bags will be checked for paper, glass, plastic and tins which can be recycled through shaking the bags rather than opening the bags.