Recycle

Recycling reduces the demand for raw materials. By recovering materials from old products we are removing or reducing the need to extract yet more raw materials from the earth.

Packaging symbols
Packaging symbols help to identify how different parts of packaging can be recycled. They look like this:

If you don't recycle, your black bag waste will be landfilled – what a waste!.

Here are some facts:

• 1.7 million tonnes of municipal waste was produced in 2009-10

Where does it all go?

• 39% of household waste is reused recycled or composted (2009-10); the fourth quarter of 2010-11 shows an all Wales rate of 49% - we're getting better but still need to do more.
• Less than 1% is used to recover heat and power
• Around 59% is still landfilled – it is buried in the ground. Dealing with our rubbish in this way is not sustainable because it wastes energy and materials, and land and natural resources are running out.
• In Wales, it is estimated we have only 7 years worth of landfill space remaining!

When we bury our rubbish we are losing valuable natural resources and wasting the energy, water and transport costs used in its production. The only sustainable answer to the problem is to recycle our waste.

Materials from recycling collections all over Wales are sent to materials recycling facilities (MRF). As householders have enabled clean materials of the same type to reach the MRF, they can be collected in bulk and often compacted further before they are transported for recycling into new products! Some of the energy that would have been used in producing ‘virgin’ materials will be saved due to householders recycling more of their waste.




Useful links:

To find out more about where and what to recycle, please visit our interactive bring bank locator by adding your post code, town or city.

To find out what kerbside recycling services your local council run, please visit the ‘In your area' part of our website