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Recycling rate
65%
Total waste per person
446kg
Residual waste per person
157kg

Recycling service

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council operates a weekly kerbside-sort recycling system.

Each household has two black recycling boxes (although some may still have the old green recycling box), one for paper and one for glass bottles, jars and cardboard. Small (handheld) electrical items can also be put in the boxes for collection. A blue reusable sack takes plastic bottles and pots, tubs and trays, as well as foil, cans and aerosols.

Clothing and textiles can be put out on the same day as recycling in carrier bags.

There is also a blue food bin, which is collected weekly, and a green garden waste sack, which is collected fortnightly between April and November. 

The council provides a bulky household waste collection service for large WEEE and furniture at a cost of £18 for up to three items, with additional charges for items such as garden sheds and kitchen and bathroom units.

A 140-litre black wheelie bin is used to collect residual waste every fortnight.

There are two household waste recycling centres across the county at Aberfan and Dowlais.

Visit Merthyr Tydfil council website

Household waste recycling centres

Aberfan Household Waste and Recycling Centre

Aberfan Household Waste and Recycling Centre
51.6955, -3.34531

Dowlais Household Waste and Recycling Centre

Dowlais Household Waste and Recycling Centre
51.7605, -3.36236

In total
All materials
17k
tonnes of waste was recycled
Savings
Selected materials
£2m
saved by recycling instead of disposal
Climate change impact
Selected materials
8k
tonnes of CO2 emissions was avoided

Top 5 UK recycling destinations

1
Biogen
Aberdare, Wales
2,644t
Organic Waste
2
Bryn Group Limited
Gelligaer, Wales
1,771t
Organic Waste
3
Ardagh Group
Wakefield, England
1,215t
Glass
4
Day Aggregates Ltd
Bristol, England
1,116t
Incinerator Bottom Ash
5
Bryn Group Limited
Gelligaer, Wales
960t
Rubble and aggregate

Where does Wales’ recycling go?

Top countries (selected materials) 2022/23

Glass

Glass icon

Amount recycled
1,283t
CO2 avoided
968t
Estimated disposal saving
£144,950
Reported as exported
0%

Top destinations

Metal

Metal icon

Amount recycled
1,195t
CO2 avoided
3,036t
Estimated disposal saving
£135,072
Reported as exported
7%

Top destinations

Organic Waste

Organic waste icon

Amount recycled
4,415t
CO2 avoided
221t
Estimated disposal saving
£498,892
Reported as exported
0%

Top destinations

Paper

Paper and cardboard icon

Amount recycled
2,673t
CO2 avoided
1,462t
Estimated disposal saving
£301,995
Reported as exported
94%

Top destinations

Plastic

Plastic icon

Amount recycled
1,182t
CO2 avoided
634t
Estimated disposal saving
£133,600
Reported as exported
23%

Top destinations

Textiles

Textil icon

Amount recycled
262t
CO2 avoided
1,524t
Estimated disposal saving
£29,558
Reported as exported
5%

Top destinations

WRAP Cymru