South Wales Evening Post - 5 January 2009
Recycled waste is not being stockpiled and left in limbo in Wales, despite reported problems in other parts of the UK.
Councils and their waste contractors are continuing to find markets for the hundreds of tonnes of newspapers, bottles and cans we leave out for collection every fortnight.
And their message is: keep recycling.
Two national newspapers reported that mountains of paper and cans are being stored in warehouses by English councils because there are no buyers. It follows a steep drop in prices for recycled goods and a small increase in requests for extra waste storage space. But Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot councils have all said it's business as usual for them, adding that no recycled waste has had to be taken to landfill sites.
Figures for Swansea also suggest the credit crunch has prompted a sharp fall in gadget and electrical goods' waste as people shun new purchases and make do with what they've got.
In April 2007, the council collected nearly 500 tonnes of waste electrical goods and metal — in December 2008 the figure was just over 200 tonnes. A spokeswoman for the Welsh Local Government Association, which represents all 22 authorities, said: "During late 2008 [recycling] markets did crash to a certain extent for some collected material — particularly plastic, with China stopping the importing of plastics.
"The markets for metals were also hit at the end of November when Corus stopped taking collected material.
"However, in Wales councils are following our advice and carrying on collecting the material, and, if necessary, storing it. As a result of the good collection systems operated by our councils most are still managing to find markets."
Government waste scheme WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) said it was much better to recycle then send stuff to landfill.
"Even if paper is sold for recycling at £10 a tonne that is still preferable to paying the average of £45, including tax, to send it to landfill," said a spokeswoman.
The UK Government said private recycling contractors were seeing profit margins squeezed.
"While the market is going through a difficult period, we are hopeful that it will recover in the coming months," said a Defra spokesman.
