Less landfill waste after Gwynedd bin collection cuts

Gwynedd council says it is now on track to meet Welsh government recycling targets

The amount of waste sent to landfill in Gwynedd has fallen since controversial three-weekly bin collections were introduced to the first 15,000 homes.

The average home in Dwyfor put 22% less waste in their black bins in November 2014 than in the same month in 2013.

As a result, recycling and composting rates in the county have increased from 54% in March to 57.4% last month.

The council said the waste reduction in the Dwyfor area alone would save it £100,000 a year.

The first phase of three-weekly bin collections was introduced in October, with 19,000 households in Meirionnydd and 26,000 in Arfon set to follow suit next year.

'Early Christmas present'

Food waste and recyclable products are still collected weekly.

The council said it was now well placed to hit Welsh government targets, which require councils to recycle at least 58% of their waste by March 2016, and 64% by 2020.

Councillor Gareth Roberts said: "The people of Dwyfor have delivered an early Christmas present for our environment and for the Gwynedd council taxpayer."

Waste collection changes were introduced in Gwynedd to help the council bridge a £50m funding shortfall between now and 2017/18.