Plaid AM calls for Welsh Government to end ‘madness’ of sending Welsh recycling materials outside of

Developing more Welsh recycling centres would reduce carbon footprint and create jobs

Plaid Cymru AM Dr. Dai Lloyd has called on the Welsh Government to put a stop on local authorities in Wales from sending their recyclable waste to England, and to recycle welsh materials in Wales.

Dr. Lloyd points to figures which show that during 2017-18 Swansea Council sent recyclable waste to England (10,007 tonnes), Turkey (3,697), China (1,816), India (751), Indonesia (851) and Poland (563). It recycled 27,559 tonnes in Wales.

Neath Port Talbot Council sent their recyclable waste to England (10,347 tonnes), Indonesia (2,085), Portugal (1,728) and China (974). It recycled 12,377 tonnes in Wales.

Dr. Lloyd today (Wednesday, September 18th) called on Finance Minister Rebecca Evans AM to provide additional funding to welsh local authorities to enable them to establish regional or national recycling facilities which would enable all Welsh recyclable materials to be treated in Wales.

Dr. Lloyd stated:

“It is astonishing that local authorities in Wales are sending their recyclable materials so far.

“Residents in Swansea are quite rightly asking why thousands of tonnes of their recyclable material is being sent not only across the border to England, but also to places further afield such as Turkey, China, India, Indonesia and Poland.

“Similarly, residents in Neath Port Talbot will find that their materials are sent to Indonesia, Portugal and China.

“It simply does not make sense for welsh local authorities to be sending this material outside of Wales. It is madness.”

Dr. Lloyd added:

“The Welsh Government has a key role to play in co-ordinating this agenda, and I am calling on them to ensure that funding is made available to establish regional or national recycling facilities and ensuring that welsh waste is treated in Wales.

“Not only would this ensure that our carbon footprint is reduced, but it would also ensure that we could develop recycling jobs for Welsh people. There is both an environmental and economic argument for this move. Doing what we do now is simply not an option.”