£1.5m of extra funds for new recycling depot

Denbighshire’s cabinet will discuss its new recycling depot at a cabinet meeting today.

The new site on the Colomendy Industrial Estate in Denbigh is set to be operational by the autumn of 2023 as Denbighshire launches its remodelled recycling service.

Denbighshire’s older depots at Ruthin and Bodelwydden are expected to continue, and the new site is expected to create approximately 50 new jobs.

The new depot is currently in phase-one of construction and is being developed in collaboration with four local businesses. The previous landowner wanted to sell the land as a whole, so the council and the businesses purchased the plot together.
The minister for climate change Julie James announced in March that Denbighshire County Council was to benefit from £1.5m for its recycling scheme and infrastructure.

This money will cover a shortfall of costs for the depot site. According to the report, to deal with the risks, the contingency sum within the overall budget was increased to £2m in July 2019.

But the council says global inflation and the cost of materials had led to a rise in costs, citing a 90% increase in steel prices. A review of the costs and budget in February estimated the cost now being over £3.5m. Consequently the £2m contingency sum was no longer enough.

At the meeting councillors will be updated on the latest budgetary position and business case on the recycling remodelling project.
Denbighshire is set to introduce the new recycling model in 2023, which the council says will save around £500,000 a year. The model includes:

A new weekly collection for recyclables such as paper, glass, cans, and plastic
A weekly collection for food waste
A new fortnightly collection for clothes and small electrical items
And a collection of non-recyclable waste every four weeks, but with larger bins.

A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said: “The Welsh Government has been providing financial support over a number of years to Local Authorities to continue to improve recycling rates across Wales.
“This funding is a result of pressures due to increased costs for construction and materials globally and is to assist the Council’s introduction of the new waste service model which will be launched next year.”

By Richard Evans – Local Democracy Reporter