Major changes to recycling in Monmouthshire are set for the go-ahead after a successful trial in the area.

Following a wide-scale pilot scheme, Monmouthshire County Council has pushed for new measures to come into force from summer next year, backed up by a £2m spend on a new fleet of recycling trucks.

As at the moment, red and purple recycling bags will be collected weekly, whilst workers will collect glass separately every two weeks, as part of a drive to improve collection and reduce costs.

Councillors may also decide to bring back grey waste bags from April 2018, and send food waste to an anaerobic digestion factory converting it into energy.

Despite a consistent top-three showing in Wales, Monmouthshire, like councils across the country, have to deal with the reality of tightening budgets, handed down from the government each year. Councillors hope these measures will improve the service whilst cutting costs.

Through the previous system, glass collected in plastic waste bags proved difficult to turn into revenue, often costing MCC more to collect than its recyclable value.

The changes did not escape the criticism of local councillors, however, with some fearing that more changes to the rules could disrupt the area’s current status as one of Wales’ best systems.

Simon Howarth, independent councillor for Llanelly Hill, said he feared drastic measures handed down from Welsh Government would jinx Monmouthshire’s strong recycling record in the name of needless tinkering.

“They should let us get on with the job. We are doing so well already. Let’s get a grip! We don’t want to turn people off with draconian measures making them do this and do that. Monmouthshire is in the top three in Wales for recycling. ?

?“We’ve already hit our targets a decade early. I think more education is needed. A nudge is always better than a push. We don’t need to push our residents, they do a sterling job already.

“It’s an old saying, but it is old for a reason: don’t cut off your nose to spite your face,” he said.

The pilot scheme, involving 3,000 homes in Monmouthshire, found residents wanted the grey bags to return as they served ‘as a reminder of recycling’s importance.’ Surveys found 86 percent were ‘happy’ with the new system, and 70 percent were satisfied with the new container for glass.

Council officers were also pleased to find that most residents were happy to comply with the new rules, despite it being ‘more work’ as they appreciated the reason for doing so.

MCC also plans to draft a new fleet of recycling trucks in time for next year’s system change. The report found although typical round times were slower in the new vehicles, crews could collect waste with more potential sale value.

Councillor Douglas Edwards, of Abergavenny, said the new measures would build on current successes.

“Recycling waste by Monmouthshire County Council is one of the great success stories.  We are now recycling 70 per cent of our waste four years before the target set for 2020 by Welsh Government and Europe.

“We must highlight the success of the Council’s waste team led by Rachel Jowitt and supported by her team of officers and those employees who every week, whatever the weather — rain, snow or sun bring their recycling lorries to our door. I thank them all for its success,”?said Councillor Edwards

He added, “We anticipate we might have to spend some £2m on replacing our fleet of lorries.

“It becomes necessary to change our fleet every six years due to the wear and tear and the huge mileage each vehicle has to do each year.

“Each vehicle is assessed as it gets nearer to its possible end of life and, if possible, will continue in service until  our expert team at the Raglan depot decide the lorry is no longer fit for purpose.

“The trial run of separating glass for 6,500 local homes has also been a great success and I anticipate this will be introduced county-wide as soon as possible.

“The red, purple and grey bags will continue together green boxes for glass and the blue container for food waste. I trust the population of Monmouthshire will continue to support Rachel and her team,” he said.

Rachel Jowitt, head of waste and street services at MCC said, “The committee were very supportive of the proposals and agreed to all apart from one — it was agreed that further work on the effectiveness of the grey bags would be presented to committee in the autumn.”

• Full details of the proposed changes can be found on the monmouthshire.gov website.