I ddarllen hwn yn Gymraeg, cliciwch yma.
As Wales marks the one-year anniversary of its workplace recycling law, businesses across Wales are seeing benefits from recycling more and reducing what they send to landfill or incineration, including cost and carbon savings.
Introduced by the Welsh Government in April 2024 to encourage more of Wales' waste to be separated and recycled, the law is helping organisations of all sizes to reduce their environmental impact.
Since April 6, 2024, all businesses, charities and public sector organisations in Wales have been required by law to sort their waste for recycling.
'Everyone needs to do their part'
Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay’s visitor destination, has seen a 20% improvement in its recycling rate, with its highest recycling rate of 71% achieved during one of its busiest periods in the last year.
Marketing manager, Becky Jones, stressed the importance of clear and consistent messaging alongside ongoing support, especially in an industry with a high turnover of personnel and seasonal staff.
She said: “As well as signs, waste and recycling is a standing item at our tenant meeting. We’ve had visits from Cardiff Council’s trade waste team to provide support and answer questions, and we offer one-to-one meetings to provide support with recycling and waste management.”
Similarly, The Holly Bush Inn in north east Wales reduced the amount of waste being collected each month by two-thirds (from three cubic meters to one cubic meter) by sorting its waste and recycling more, prior to the law starting.
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Plas Kynaston Canal (PKC) Group, which runs the pub, Ebenezer Gallery, and Pontcysyllte World Heritage Site Visitor Centre, was pleased to see this law introduced.
David Metcalfe, director at PKC Group, said: “The workplace recycling law reinforces what we are already doing, and everyone needs to do their part. As well as recycling, we need to find ways to reduce the amount of waste being generated in the first place and seek out ways to move on to a circular economy.
"We are now looking at where the waste goes from here, which is part of our remit of our Climate Crisis Mitigation Centre upstairs in the Ebenezer Gallery.”
Bluestone National Park Resort in Pembrokeshire is another success story. The resort has championed recycling for a long time and, through careful monitoring and identifying areas for improvement, has reduced contamination in its recycling by more than 50% in the last 12 months.
With effective recycling and contamination levels reduced, the team is shifting its focus to general waste. By changing from black to clear bin bags, they can monitor, identify, and further reduce general waste and improve recycling. They are also looking at ways to turn waste into a commodity.
Marten Lewis, director of sustainability at Bluestone, said: “The law has helped us recycle more efficiently and create opportunities for general waste and to recycle further. We want to recycle as much as possible, but ultimately, we want to have no waste.
"The best way to tackle it is to understand what is in the general waste and start to eliminate it.”
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Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy first minister with responsibility for climate change, said: “Workplaces all over Wales have shown a real commitment to supporting our recycling ambitions over the past year and their efforts are helping us make meaningful progress.
“As we celebrate the first anniversary of the workplace recycling law, it’s a chance to thank those who are now regularly separating and recycling their waste. It is helping us keep materials in use for as long as possible to help our economy and support our supply chains.”
The workplace recycling law requires all workplaces in Wales to separate food; paper and card; glass; and metal, plastics and cartons.