WASTE and recycling wardens will be employed by Blaenau Gwent council to issue guidance and advice to residents with items can and cannot be recycled.

As part of the authority’s new policy, waste wardens will help address the issue of side waste at the kerbside, helping the council reduce residual waste.

Meanwhile a recycling warden will be based at Ebbw Vale’s New Vale Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) issuing advice to resident and sorting recyclable and non-recyclable items from black bags.

The policy will come into effect from Monday, June 11 and will be phased in across the borough as the council aims to improve its recycling rates.

Cllr Garth Collier, the executive member for the environment, the wardens would help tackle the issue of recycling n the streets and at the waste site.

“A recycling warden will be based at the site initially to provide advice and explain the changes to householders,” said the Independent ward member for Blaina.

“Two waste wardens will be dedicated to the side waste enforcement process on a 12-week cycle.

“The presence of a waste warden, from existing resources, at New Vale HWRC will help to establish and support best practice implementation for bag sorting at the HWRC.

“The current workload of the waste wardens will be re-prioritised to include side waste enforcement at kerbside and the HWRC.”

Regarding the HWRC site, the council’s deputy leader added it would help improve the capture rate of recyclable materials.

“Householders taking residual bags to the sites will be asked to sort their bags alongside a site operative, who will explain, on a one-to-one basis, which items can and cannot be recycled," said the Independent ward member for Blaina.

Cllr Collier told members that council-employed recycling and waste wardens would provide guidance to residents about the changes as part of a wider campaign.

“A borough-wide householder campaign to raise awareness of side waste enforcement will be delivered to encourage householders not to put recyclables in their residual waste and maximise recycling,” he said.

“Residents will be liaised with to ensure they have sufficient capacity to recycle.”

Cllr Collier added that a borough-wide campaign, involving leaflets, a series of roadshows and a digital campaign, will be used to help promote the recycling policy.

The council can already issue fines to residents who ignore legal notices for persistently placing excessive amounts of waste out for residual collection.

As previously reported in the Argus, Blaenau Gwent is prepared to issue £100 fines for putting out too much waste on a regular basis.

The authority has the lowest recycling rate in all of Wales – currently 56.8 per cent and below the Welsh Government’s target of 58 per cent.