THERE are no plans to reduce the frequency of recycling collections in Monmouthshire, councillors have been told. 

Despite planning £8.4 million of cuts for the forthcoming financial year, the county council has said it will maintain waste services, including fortnightly collections of black bin bags and weekly food waste and recycling collections. 

Rogiet Labour councillor Peter Strong asked if the council had considered reducing the collection of red bags – for paper and cardboard – and purple bags – used for tin, cans and plastic – to fortnightly. 

He asked: “Are there savings to be made there, or any particular problems with doing so, it seems worth looking into?” 

Frances O’Brien, the chief officer for communities and place, said weekly food and recycling collections would be maintained. 

She said: “We have concerns about the impact of changing from weekly collections of dry recycling in the purple and red sacks and what it would do in terms in terms of impact on saving carbon and recycling rates.” 

She said the council has achieved a recycling rate of around 72 per cent with the Welsh Government target that councils recycle 70 per cent of waste, which includes food composting, in 2024/25. 

Cllr Ben Callard, the Labour cabinet member for finance, said if the council misses those recycling targets it faces financial penalties. 

He said: “I think residents will appreciate us managing to keep waste collections the same.” 

He added: “We have to make sure we are doing all we can to make sure recycling is as easy as possible.” 

Cllr Strong said the idea of reducing recycling collections was put to him by a resident and said: “It’s nice to have a clear reply to give him.” 

As part of the upcoming budget the council intends to save £50,000 by no longer providing free food waste bags. They will instead be sold at cost from council buildings and some local independent shops. 

The cost of garden waste collections will also rise by 10 per cent, in line with a decision made last year, which is intended to raise £75,000 in income while an increase in trade waste fees and the sale of bags and bins is intended to raise £30,000.