Cabinet agrees new plan for the future of its waste and recycling service

The Cabinet of Bridgend County Borough Council has agreed to bring its waste and recycling service back in-house where it will be managed internally by the local authority.

Highlighting a need for building ‘closer, more hands-on monitoring’ and ‘sustainable flexibility’ into the service to ensure it is capable of meeting future needs and challenges, Cabinet members arrived at their decision after considering a number of different options developed by waste specialists, Eunomia, and taking account of detailed feedback from the Scrutiny committee.

These options included setting up a local authority trading company (LATCO) to run the service or appointing an external contractor similar to the arrangements that are currently in place with Plan B Management Solutions, which are due to end on 31 March 2026.

In planning ahead for the future, I want to recognise the excellent work that has taken place as Bridgend County Borough was recently named not only the best area in Wales for how we deal with waste and recycling, but the most cost-effective, too.

With new targets and requirements on the horizon, I now want to ensure that we are best placed to build upon this success, and that we can play a greater role in its ongoing management.

I also want to ensure that the service is based more around sustainable flexibility so that it can adapt and change quickly in response to whatever new requirements and demands may be placed upon it.

Council Leader John Spanswick

Councillor Paul Davies, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment, added: “I would like to thank Eunomia for identifying potential options on how the waste and recycling service may operate in future, Plan B for all their support in delivering the service, and Scrutiny members for their contributions.

“I believe that bringing the service back in-house will provide us with closer, more hands-on monitoring, the ability to deal with performance issues or operational challenges in a timely manner, and opportunities for responding to enquiries from residents more effectively.

“It will also enable us to be more agile in responding to future strategic changes that may prove to be necessary, especially around issues such as collection methodology, new emerging technology and future Welsh Government targets.

“Ultimately, this decision will help us build in a greater element of control while strengthening the service’s resilience to external pressures, and I am looking forward to seeing how the plans will progress.”

A transition board will be set up to oversee the move, and council officers will seek to negotiate an extension of the current contract with Plan B in order to mitigate against any potential delays or issues that may be encountered in transferring the service back in-house by April 2026.

• You can view the full report to Cabinet by visiting the council’s corporate website, bridgend.gov.uk