Local community invited to community open evening at the North Powys Bulking Facility

20 August 2025

Members of the local community are invited to attend a community open evening at the North Powys Bulking Facility in Abermule to find out about future plans for the site and the council's waste and recycling service.

Being held on Tuesday 2 September, between 5pm and 7pm, visitors will be able to have a tour of the site and a chat with staff about how the facility currently operates and find out more information on the plans to accept residual waste at the site.

The North Powys Bulking Facility in Abermule has been fully operational since September 2023 and has already proved to be a great asset to the council, as a facility to accept and bulk the kerbside recycling from the north of the county. In a bid to lower costs, reduce our carbon footprint and ensure the council's waste and recycling service remains sustainable for the future, we now plan to fully utilise the capacity of the site, in line with the infrastructure requirements outlined in the recently approved Sustainable Resource Strategy

As such, we will shortly be submitting a planning application under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to accept and bulk residual waste (waste collected in wheeled bins and purple bags) from the north of the county at the site, before it is transferred to a waste treatment facility.

The large site on the outskirts of the village was designed specifically to allow the council's waste and recycling services to be run efficiently and safely. Along with the existing planning permission, the site also operates under an Environmental Permit issued by Natural Resources Wales (NRW). This allows for the permitted wastes, including residual and recyclable waste (such as food waste, paper, card, plastic, cans, glass and garden waste), to be stored at the site before being transferred for processing. The permit contains strict requirements regarding how the site is operated to ensure any impact to the local environment or community is controlled and minimised.

"We are looking forward to welcoming the local community to our open evening for a face-to-face chat about the plans, and a chance to see for themselves how the site is operated and how any potential impacts are controlled." Explains Cllr Jackie Charlton, Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys.

"The site is already working well and has enough capacity to accept residual waste without having to make any changes to how it is operated, meaning the local community shouldn't notice any changes at all. The site will continue to be run to the highest standards and monitored in accordance with the strict requirements of the NRW environmental permit.

"Currently residual waste from the north of the county is taken to a third-party transfer station at a considerable cost to the council as well as resulting in additional travelling time and carbon emissions from the fleet of collection vehicles. By utilising the site to its full potential, we can run our waste and recycling service more sustainability, reducing costs and minimising our carbon footprint."