PEOPLE taking their black bin bags to Pembrokeshire recycling centres could soon find them being opened and rummaged through.

The county council’s environment scrutiny committee recently had the opportunity to visit both a Pembrokeshire and a Carmarthenshire civic amenity site to compare how waste and recycling is handled.

At the Nantycaws site in Carmarthenshire a system of black bag intervention is adopted.

If a person drops a black bag off, the attendants wait until they leave, pours out the contents on a steel table and removes any items which could be recycled.

During the committee meeting on Thursday, June 5 Councillor Stephen Joseph said: “The recyclable material they take out of the black bags in Nantycaws is incredible. As a group we would like to see it tried out in Pembrokeshire."

Cllr Jacob Williams said: “I think checking black bags is a good idea. People could be putting Japanese knotweed, asbestos and dead bodies in them for all we know.

“If people don’t want their personal items gone through, they should just put their black bag out for kerbside collection.”

Other comparisons made between the two sites noted how much busier Winsel was then Nantycaws. Cllr Joseph said: “My initial impression was the staff at Winsel were under a lot of pressure. There were cars lining up to go in.”

He also commented that the signage was unclear compared to Nantycaws, with people unsure of where to put stuff.