The Vale of Glamorgan Council has introduced urgent changes to household recycling collections in a bid to tackle a growing problem with contamination.

From August 19th, council collection staff will only collect recycling placed in Council issued bags or boxes.

The Vale Council have stated: ''Though the vast majority of Vale residents are committed recyclers and have helped the Vale of Glamorgan become one of the top areas in Wales for recycling, a small but growing number have been putting non-recyclable items in with their recycling.''

According to a report by WRAP, a charity active in the field of waste management, Wales is a leader in overall recycling rates but not so good when it comes to making sure that the recycling process excludes non-recyclable items.

WRAP's figures suggest that in 2018, 83% of Welsh homes were putting at least one item in the recycling that is not accepted.

In the Vale of Glamorgan there are particular issues with items such as soiled nappies, food waste and even cat litter, which results in entire lorry-loads of recycling being rejected at the processing centre and urgent action is needed to address this.

To combat the problem of contamination, recyclable waste will only be collected if it is placed in Council-issue bags or boxes. We are asking people to make the change as soon as they are able and for the complete change to be in place by the end of August.

Cllr Lis Burnett, Deputy Leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council, said: "Vale residents have made a tremendous effort to achieve such a high rate of recycling but unfortunately a minority are ignoring the guidelines and it's causing a major problem.

''Urgent action is needed and we are delighted at the immediate uptake of the changes by many residents.

"Single-use plastic is also a significant threat to our planet, particularly our oceans, and as residents of a coastal county we understand the seriousness of that damage. These changes will also help reduce the amount of single-use plastic waste produced."

The introduction of the two black bag limit for household waste has seen a reduction of black bag collection by around 30%.

The Vale hopes this will be the next successful phase of changes to recycling targets.

Extra supplies of the Council's reusable bags and boxes are available for free at a number of locations across the Vale.

More information, including where you can get your free bags, can be found by clicking the red button below.