Powys County Council faces potential financial penalties after its recycling performance fell to 65.7% in April–June 2026, below the Welsh Government’s 70% statutory target.
The figures were examined by councillors on 14 October and reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service yesterday.
Council officers identified several contributing factors, including reduced garden-waste collections during the dry summer and changes to the way recycled wood is counted.
Revised calculations reduced the assumed recovery rate for some wood waste from approximately 90% to 23%.
Officers said the revised methodology accounted for around two percentage points of the reported decline.
Councils can face penalties calculated at £200 per tonne below the statutory recycling requirement, although enforcement is not automatic.
Why it matters: The case raises questions about the reliability of recycling statistics, the financial consequences of missing national targets and whether other Welsh councils face similar difficulties following changes to reporting methodologies
