Ceredigion residents are to be limited to three black bin bag collections at a time from April and recycling centre staff are checking the contents of bags brought to their sites.

Ceredigion County Council says that from April, households will be limited to three bags of non-recyclable waste per three-weekly collection cycle.

Residents will also be unable to take unsorted black bags into all of the county’s household waste sites.

Announcing the plans, Ceredigion County Council said: “No unsorted waste” policies are in place elsewhere; this means that residents wanting to take residual waste into a household waste site are asked to sort through their waste and recycle anything that’s recyclable.

“This is being implemented at the site on the Glanyrafon Industrial Estate, Aberystwyth from 20 January.

“Residents are advised to sort their waste at home before they visit any of Ceredigion’s Household Waste Sites.

“The changes are designed to help incentivise residents to recycle more of their waste and help the county increase its recycling further.”

The council says the moves are being introduced because of increasing Welsh Government recycling targets and the need to reduce costs.

Cllr Keith Henson, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, said: “Despite the fantastic progress we’ve made over the years, through the recycling efforts by Ceredigion residents, there is still over half of the waste in “black bags” collected in Ceredigion that could have been recycled. This is a waste of natural resources and a cost to us all as residents. Change is never easy. I know that we all care about Ceredigion, and I know that our residents will understand the need for change. Reduce, reuse and recycle.”

The council says it is focusing on trying to capture the 1,500 tonnes of food waste that is thought to end up in residents’ black bags annually.