BLAENAU Gwent council has met Welsh Government recycling targets for the first time ever and saved £320,000 on general waste disposal.

New measures including the threat of fines for persistently leaving excessive waste collection helped the authority record a recycling rate of 59.26 per cent last year.

The improvement, from 56 per cent the previous year, means the council will avoid any fines, having hit the 58 per cent Welsh Government target for the first time.

A reduction in rubbish has also saved the council £320,000 in paying for the disposal of black bag waste.

Council officer Matthew Stent told the council’s community services scrutiny committee on Thursday that the improvements would not have been possible without the support of residents.

“This is a significant achievement to meet the Welsh Government’s targets for the first time,” Mr Stent said.

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“It has been a significant effort and we have had tremendous support.”

Council bosses are now considering how to further improve the authority’s recycling rate, which was previously the worst in Wales for several years.

Next year the Welsh Government’s recycling target will rise to 64 per cent, and in 2024/25 it will go up again to 70 per cent.

One measure being consider by council officials is to roll out bins for recycling plastics and cans across the borough’s town centres.

Two have already been set up, with another 14 being considered if the scheme is successful.

Councillor Lisa Winnett said general waste bins should be located nearby though, as some people had been putting rubbish in the new recycling bin in Brynmawr.

A garden waste collection, currently run from March until November, could also be offered all year round.

In the longer term, council officer Matthew Perry said the authority may have to consider monthly bin collections, when the recycling target jumps to 70 per cent.

Currently bins are collected every three weeks.

Mr Perry said council officials will also be meeting with Welsh Government ministers on next Monday, July 8, to discuss funding for a second waste recycling centre in the borough.

Planning permission for the facility at Roseheyworth Business Park in Abertillery was approved earlier this year.

Permits could also be given to Blaenau Gwent residents to use at the tip, to ensure those outside the county do not dispose waste at the site.

Mr Perry said a similar scheme to that introduced by Monmouthshire council is being considered, though he pointed out the authority already has a black bag sorting policy in place where residents are advised what can be recycled