FAQs

Given the current financial pressure on the Council and school budgets, it has been decided to use the existing bin infrastructure. Your existing internal bins will need to be repurposed and relabelled with the labels provided by the council.

Addressing such concerns is an internal matter to be navigated between the school administration and any relevant catering managers.

The new Workplace Recycling regulations apply to each premises as a whole, therefore, all staff, teachers and caterers alike, are responsible for ensuring that the new regulations are implemented and adhered to.

Schools are advised to appoint a waste coordinator to cover all areas of the school including any kitchen/dining hall and external spaces within the grounds. This person will need to have details of the school’s current waste contract, and act as a liaison officer with school personnel and contractors.

The ban on food waste going into the sewers does not apply to liquids.

Under the new Workplace Recycling regulations, it is a legal requirement to segregate waste into the following categories for collection:

• Paper and cardboard
• Metal, plastic, and cartons
• Food
• Glass

For waste to be recycled correctly, any residual food or liquid must be removed, and the items must be considered reasonably clean. Reducing non-recyclable waste volumes will reduce costs as recycling bin collections are less costly than non-recyclable waste collections.  If the incorrect bin type for the waste is used, or contaminated waste is put out for collection, your contractor may leave your waste behind.

All staff, teachers, and caterers alike, are responsible for ensuring that the new regulations are implemented and adhered to.

The Welsh Government want to improve the quality and quantity of recycling from workplaces. This is an important step towards reaching zero waste, reducing our carbon emissions, and tackling the climate emergency. 

We need to keep materials in use for as long as possible. With the costs of materials rising, keeping high quality materials in use will help our economy and support our supply chains. For example, by avoiding landfill tax and creating job opportunities.  In Wales we are already the best in the UK for domestic recycling and third best in the world.  The new law supports the actions from the circular economy strategy, Beyond recycling.

All waste must be segregated into the five categories:

• Plastic, cartons & metal
• Mixed paper & card
• Food waste
• Glass bottles & jars
• General waste

It is not feasible to have 5 bins in every room, so many individual bins have been removed and central recycling stations have been set up. There are no resources for new bins, so we have relabelled existing bins and surplus containers are being redistributed across the authority.  Posters are in place to direct to your nearest recycling point.  Where there are areas of specific waste production eg photocopier/printers, then a paper/card bin will usually be placed in those communal areas as well.  It is no longer reasonable to have under desk bins in every room, so these are being removed to make cleaner/caretaker duties more efficient. 

Mostly but there are some changes.  The new waste categories and what can be included in them are part of the Government’s blue print collection.  Some items like plastic film can no longer be mixed in with other plastics, please refer to the intranet A-Z of recycling as a guide of what to place where. 

Bin stations have already been created at most premises. There is no budget for new bins, so we have to use what we already have. Please liaise with your cleaning staff/caretaker before setting up any additional containers. If a need for additional is identified following those discussions, then please contact us at: workplacerecycling@carmarthenshire.gov.uk to see if we can locate any surplus containers for you.

Bins have been updated with new signage and posters placed at most locations. If you need more please contact us at: workplacerecycling@carmarthenshire.gov.uk and use the following codes to tell us what you need:

If the litter bin is within your premises, then it is included in the regulations and any waste placed in them has to be sorted into the 5 categories:

• Plastic, cartons & metal
• Mixed paper & card
• Food waste
• Glass bottles & jars
• General waste

If you need to update any existing litter bins we have the following stickers available to help you re-label your bins:

LBM External litter bin sticker - metal, plastic and cartons category
LBG External litter bin sticker - general waste

You can request these via our mailbox: workplacerecycling@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

Street litter bins, do not fall under the new regulations.

Even if you only have coffee jars these cannot be mixed with other waste.  Waste collectors should be able to provide less frequent collections or on request services for this material.

The regulations state that only food waste from premises that produce 5 kilogrammes or more of food waste in seven consecutive days have to segregate it for collection.

It’s important that we all take responsibility for the waste we generate in work as well as at home. Please refer to our A-Z of workplace recycling as a guide – there are some differences to what we recycle at home.

If there is too much of the wrong type of waste in the bin, then the waste contractor for your premises may not be able to collect the waste or may have to charge a higher fee to collect it as general waste. If this persists then a fine could be imposed by the regulator Natural Resources Wales direct to the premises.

Cleaning service teams will be required to review and amend the SLA for April 2024 to ensure that they are compliant with the new Workplace Recycling regulations. The council recommend that the time allocated for the emptying of recycling bins is revised based on the number of additional bins, and that this is accounted for within the SLA.

By reducing non-recyclable (black bag) waste bins there may be more time for cleaners to empty centralised recycling bins. Cleaners will continue to provide black bags for the residual (non-recyclable) waste inside the school, as part of their service. If these are not provided currently within your SLA, speak with cleaning services to arrange. 

Schools have differing arrangements as to who empties the different bins, so you will need to discuss the changes with all parties involved.