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This achievement puts Neath Port Talbot among the top-performing areas in Wales with Wales itself being one of the top recycling nations on the planet.

Welsh Government sets legally binding recycling targets for local authorities, aiming to increase recycling rates to protect the planet’s limited natural resources and promote a circular economy.

In 2024/25, councils needed to reuse, recycle or compost at least 70% of the waste they collect.  Neath Port Talbot achieved a figure of 71.4%, the county borough’s highest ever recycling rate.

To enable residents and council business customers to recycle as much as possible, Neath Port Talbot Council: 
•    Promotes greater recycling.
•    Operates a separate collection for recyclable materials at the kerbside.
•    Operates a number of Household Waste Recycling Centres.

Cllr Scott Jones, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Streetscene, said: “Achieving such outstanding levels of recycling is only possible when residents and local businesses rise to this considerable challenge.

“This is really something we can all be very proud of.  Residents of Neath Port Talbot are truly great recyclers.   Thank you all and congratulations to everyone.

“Recycling helps us look after our environment so it can be enjoyed by future generations. We care about our children and our children's children, that is why we, in Neath Port Talbot, recycle.”

“I would also like to thank all of those at the council’s waste team. We might not always get it right, and we acknowledge that we’ve had some delayed collections in recent months, but this great performance shows that good things happen when we all work together.

“Now that, thanks to the efforts of our residents, we have reached this important milestone, my focus going forward will be on improving our day-to-day recycling services by cutting down on issues such as spillages and missed collections.”

Over the next few months, the outturn figure will be scrutinised and checked by Natural Resources Wales.