‘Fantastic Achievement’ as Wrexham’s Recycling Figures Reach All Time High

Recycling rates in Wrexham have been branded a ‘fantastic achievement’ after it was revealed that figures had reached an all-time high for the County Borough.

The provisional figures, which were released last week, show that recycling levels in Wrexham have hit 68% – a rise of 6.5% on the previous financial year.

Wrexham has also seen a large reduction in the volume of waste going to landfill, which is down from 11,854 tonnes to just 2,560 tonnes.

Recycling levels in Wrexham have been increasing for several years, with recycling rates for the borough standing at just 3% back in 2002/2003.

Over the past twelve months in particular there has been a push on household recycling, with homes across Wrexham receiving either new black bottle boxes and food caddies or the illustrious stackable, trolley boxes.

Welcoming the new figures, Cllr David A Bithell Lead Member for Environment and Transport said: “We are delighted that we have made significant progress in the last financial year, 68% is the highest Recycling Rate we have recorded and we are now the second leading council of all 22 authorities in Wales prior to validation of the figures.

“Much of the progress was made following changes to our rounds, recycling more of our waste and supported by new boxes and trolley boxes including new kerbside vehicles making the service more reliable and efficient.”

Cllr Bithell added: “Much more needs to be done to face the challenges to reduce our waste further and we are committed to improving the service. I would also like to thank everybody who has helped us recycle this is a fantastic achievement.”

The provisional figures also show that Local Authorities across Wales recycled on average 63% of waste for the 12 months up to December 2016, compared with 59% over the same period from the previous year.

Altogether, 19 of the 22 Local Authorities in Wales increased their recycling rate by at least one percentage point, compared with October to December 2015.

Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said: “The latest report shows we are still exceeding our statutory 58% recycling target and remain well on track to meet our 70% target by 2025.

“This achievement has not been easy, but we have made some significant changes and I would like to thank householders and Local Authorities for embracing these and making a real commitment to recycling.

“While this success is to be applauded, there are still challenges ahead. Half of all the rubbish collected from the kerbsides of households is easily recyclable material, with a quarter being food waste.

“It’s important we continue to work together to make sure this material is recycled so we can reduce the impact on the environment and reduce costs for Local Authorities.”