Bridgend Council’s Cabinet has made a decision on the future of waste and recycling services in the county.
After dismissing the option of continuing to outsource waste and recycling services to a commercial company, further work was undertaken on two options: bringing recycling services back in-house or setting up a council-owned company (LatCo) to run services.
In September, the Cabinet was told by council officers that time was running out for them to choose between the two. This is because work would need to start immediately to ensure a new service was ready when the current contract with Plan B ends in April 2026.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Cabinet decided to bring waste & recycling services in-house, meaning it will be run directly by the council with recycling staff becoming full council employees. The Cabinet also agreed that a transition board is set up, meeting fortnightly, to ensure the change happens smoothly. Discussions will also begin with Plan B over a possible one-year contract extension to April 2027 (if needed).
Consultants hired to weigh up the different options deemed an in-house service to be the most expensive option overall, costing £132million over 14 years. This is compared to £127.5million for an outsourced contract and £127.2million for a LatCo.
Recent figures show that Bridgend is the best-performing local authority in Wales when it comes to recycling.
