A city street has been plagued with overflowing rubbish since new bins and rules around recycling collections have been brought in.

Stow Hill, in Newport city centre, has seen rubbish bins overfilled and piles of waste scrawled along the road.

Newport City Council recently sent a team to clean up the road, but there are concerns that the area will return to a messy state, as bin bags are already beginning to pile up on top of and around wheelie bins.

One Newport resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, explained that although the mess was cleared up, black bags have started appearing on top of the bins.

Under new rules, the smaller green wheelie bins won't be collected unless the lid can be closed, so anything that remains on the side of the street in black bags won't be taken.

The resident said that "Newport City Council cleared the rubbish again," adding "now excess black bags are piled on top.

"The council cleared up rubbish following a complaint, then it was thrown on floor again. Council removed it.

"Now there are bins with excess bin bags on top."

These bins have already started being overfilled - even after the council have cleaned up the previous mess

The resident said people needed the recycling rules explained to them because the council was "becoming a personal bin emptying service".

They added: "It seems they overfill the bins and don't recycle. Bins overflow, the council collects."

A spokesman for Newport City Council acknowledged that some areas aren't disposing of waste correctly.

They added: "Unfortunately, there are still some people who do not take responsibility for the waste they generate by disposing of it properly. This has a detrimental effect on their neighbourhood, the city and the wider environment.

"For instance, our cleansing and enforcement teams have to make regular visits to a problem area in Stow Hill.

"Action will be taken against those who are misusing the refuse bins by overfilling them and not recycling properly if we can gather evidence against them."

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However, the spokesman for Newport City Council also explained that overall the recycling rates for this quarter have seen a big improvement.

"Newport City Council is pleased that the majority of people are doing their bit to recycle as much as possible and reduce the amount of residual household waste.

"The recycling rate increased to 69.6% in the first quarter of this year compared to 56% for the same time last year."

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Recycling in Newport

As new recycling figures were released on Thursday, August 15, Newport council explained residents are recycling more items than ever before.

The recycling rate has increased to 69.6% in the first quarter of this year compared to 56% for the same time last year – the difference is equivalent to the weight of 310 recycling trucks.

And the introduction of smaller bins to encourage more people to recycle is being credited for the boost in rates, according to the council.

If this trend continues then the council believes it will exceed its statutory recycling target set by Welsh Government – and save money.

They add that rubbish volumes are reducing by around 30% with recycling and food waste increasing by around 25%.

The new bins are roughly 3ft tall with a 120l capacity

Councillor Roger Jeavons, cabinet member for city services, said: “This increase in recycling for the first quarter of this year is great news and we would like to thank our residents for embracing the changes brought about by the introduction of the new smaller bins.

“We appreciate there was some resistance to the changes in the beginning but the latest recycling figure of 69.6% show it was the right decision and everyone should be very proud that we are doing our bit to help the environment and reduce waste.”