MORE waste across Torfaen is being recycled which the council’s leader has said will help avoid reducing the frequency of rubbish collections. 

The borough council u-turned on a plan last year to consider reducing wheelie bin collections to just once every three weeks but said it would have to focus on boosting its recycling rate. 

The council has warned it could face heavy fines if it misses Welsh Government recycling targets. 

Leader Anthony Hunt told the full council’s October meeting latest figures show recycling across Torfaen, which includes food waste composted through brown food caddies rather than disposed of in general rubbish, has increased by six per cent.  

He said new red bags for plastics, cans, tins and cartons that are being delivered to residents between the end of October and throughout November will help increase the amount of waste that is recycled. 

“They are closable so there will hopefully be less litter blown across the street and foldable so they are easier to store so we can continue towards the seven per cent target without the need to change collection frequency,” said Cllr Hunt.