Black Wheeled Bin Exchange

Here is a letter we received from Cardiff Council…

The City of Cardiff Council has been asking households to think before they throw to stay “out of the black, move into the green”. Our City needs your help to recycle more, to achieve the Welsh Government recycling target of 58% by April 2016, and avoid fines of £400,000 for each 1% missed.

Phase 1 of these changes is now complete. Some households have already seen changes to the way they present household general waste, either by receiving a 140L black wheeled bin or red striped waste bags.

Phase 2 is about to begin. Properties that currently have their general waste collected in 240L black wheeled bins, will have their bins exchanged for a smaller 140L capacity. This is anticipated to take until the end of November to complete.

You have been identified as an individual or organisation that has close links with the community. Therefore we would be grateful if you could distribute or display the following as appropriate to the members of your community, or any further interested parties.

Do residents need to do anything different?

No. Residents can continue to place out their black wheeled bin, on their correct collection day/week. These are not changing, and dates can be found at www.cardiff.gov.uk/recycling.

This exchange will happen on collection day. Therefore residents just need to put their waste out as normal. After the waste has been collected, the bins will be exchanged.

If residents do not present their waste on the day that exchange is due to take place, their property will be revisited to exchange at a later date. We will be able to identify these properties, as all new bins will be stickered with a yellow address label.

Recycling and food waste collection services remain weekly, and free to participate.

Additional bags placed around bins will not be collected, and residents could receive a Fixed Penalty Notice of up to £100.

Larger Families of 6 +

Properties of 6 residents or above can request to keep their 240L black bin. They will need to register as a larger family urgently, so that we can ensure their bin is not exchanged.

If their bin is exchanged before the request is processed, we will be able to return their 240L bin at a later date.

Individual property assessments

If a resident is concerned that they will not be able to manage with a smaller bin because of their own individual circumstances, we will be able to arrange a property assessment. These will be prioritised in the order that bins are being exchanged.

All individual circumstances will be considered, but properties will need to evidence that they make full use of the weekly recycling and food waste services.

Hygiene Waste Collection Service

The hygiene waste collection is for the collection of nappies, incontinence waste and associated changing waste (cotton wool etc.). These bags are not for the disposal of catheters or stoma bags.

Hygiene bags are collected the week alternating to general waste collection.

Residents will be encouraged to sign up to this service where required, before requests to retain a larger bin are considered.

Additional Waste Collections

Bulky waste collections are available for larger items e.g. sofas, beds, wardrobes etc. These are chargeable at £12.50 for up to 2 items. Residents can arrange a maximum of 6 items to be collected.

Alternatively, if residents would like to have a 1 off clearance of an accumulation of bags, you can arrange a one off clearance through the Commercial Waste Team. There will be a minimum payment of £10 which covers the clearance of 5 bags. Each additional bag will cost £1.85. You need to request this service through the Commercial Waste Team [email protected] or (029) 2071 7501 and they will be able to provide a quote.

Education and Communication

All properties affected will be receiving a letter and leaflet through their door. These are scheduled for a phased delivery, so the final leaflets will not be delivered until October.

We are able to offer individual education sessions with households, or alternatively if you would like our Waste Strategy Team to arrange a group talk, or attend a community event, please let us know.

For further advice, or if a resident would like to register for any services listed, they will need to visit the website www.cardiff.gov.uk/recycling or contact Connect2Cardiff on 2087 2087 or [email protected]. Please do not ask residents to contact the waste strategy team directly, as their request for service needs to formally tracked.

We hope the above has been useful, and would appreciate this information being circulated through your networks.

Yours sincerely

Waste Strategy Team

The City of Cardiff Council