SHOP owners in Abergavenny are up in arms that new recycling legislation introduced by the Welsh Government could have an extremely detrimental effect on their businesses.
From April 6, all business, public, and third-sector workplaces will be required under the Workplace Recycling Regulations Act to separate key recyclable materials in the same manner as households.
The Welsh Government stresses that the new rules will improve the quality and quantity of recyclable materials collected from workplaces.
Minister for Climate Change, Julie James explained, “It is important that this collective effort stems right from the biggest businesses and organisations to the smallest in helping to tackle the climate and nature emergency and improve recycling.”
Although shop owners in Abergavenny agree with the benefits of recycling, they feel the additional costs they are being asked to incur are inordinate and unnecessary.
Sophie Bensley from Cooks Galley in Nevill Street explained, “Currently we have one wheelie bin which is collected weekly by Thomas Waste. Under the new legislation, we are required to invest in two to five-wheelie bins and to separate the waste at source into food, glass, plastic, paper card, etc. This will mean the £20 plus we have paid for years for weekly collections will now be on average £50 plus per week.
“At a time when business is hard enough already, this legislation will make things harder and the overall lack of consultation and understanding on behalf of the Welsh Government is very disappointing. That jump from £20 to upwards of £80 a week could make or break a lot of businesses.”
Sophie added, “The alley leading off Nevill Street where a lot of the shops all store their bins is already overcrowded. Where are the rest going to go? It has the potential to make the town centre look like an eyesore.
“More bins also lead to an increase in the number of waste lorries entering Abergavenny, which due to pedestrianisation they’ll have to do before 10 am. That’s a lot more carbon emissions which appears ironic when the new legislation is supposed to be building a greener future for everyone.
“I’m all for recycling but I don’t think this scheme has been well thought out and once again it appears it’s small businesses who will have to pay the biggest price.”
James Brailey of Retreat Clothing is another trader who believes the new policies beggar belief and told the Chronicle, “These proposals seem to be rushed in at the expense of the little person just so the powers that be can say they’re meeting their recycling targets. Recycling is important but these proposals seem a bit extreme. I don’t mind paying a little more, but so much a week? It’s a massive increase.
“At the moment I am fortunate enough to be allowed to use the car park behind the Cibi Walk shopping centre to store mine, but I don’t think I can squeeze another three in there. And then there’s the cost incurred of hiring the bins.”
James joked, “Perhaps they’d be better off scrapping half the AMs in the Welsh Assembly and ploughing that money back into waste management.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said, “We want to improve the consistency of how we manage waste, we want to improve the quality and quantity of recycling we collect in Wales and we want to reduce overall carbon emissions.
“Waste operators are key partners in the implementation of these regulations and they will no doubt use their expertise and experience to optimise their logistics to minimise their costs and carbon emissions. It is important to remember that they will not be collecting more waste overall - they will just be collecting it differently.”
A Monmouthshire County Council spokesperson added, "All businesses and all commercial waste collectors must comply with the legislation. The Council offers a small business package that mirrors the domestic collection service residents receive at £375 per year. If a business uses an 1100ltr for all waste, it could divert a third to half through recycling. Potentially, they could reduce their non-recyclable waste to a 660ltr bin, and the cost differential on the whole service is marginal. The vast majority of Monmouthshire County Council business waste customers already recycle with us and the changes to these customers will be minimal; there are new Trade polypropylene bags for recycling similar to the household bags but little else changes. We will continue working with our customer base to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. We recognise that further segregation of waste will increase the number of receptacles each business will need. Still, we have been managing this from 44,000 domestic properties for almost 20 years. As one of the leading authorities in Wales for recycling performance, we are hopeful that we can work together with businesses to make us all more sustainable.
We have spoken with Thomas Waste Management Ltd and suggested that they work with one of the recycling companies already working in Monmouthshire to offer a holistic service to their customers and ensure all businesses are compliant."