“Bag Baron of Porth” Strikes Gold Selling Council Recycling Bags

By our Porth Correspondent, Manuel Minty

A local entrepreneur from Porth has turned a years-long obsession with hoarding old-style council recycling bags into a thriving business at the indoor crafts market.

For years, friends mocked 48-year-old, “Bag Baron”, Mike Casagrande for keeping thousands of rolls of the sturdy, printed recycling bags under his stairs and in his shed. “Whenever I went anywhere that supplied bags, I’d always take far more than I needed.” bragged Mr Casagrande.

But when the Council recently rolled out their new and improved flimsy, logo-free replacements— widely described by locals as “bin-shaped cling film”—the tide turned.

“They said I was mad,” Mike told My Rhondda News, proudly standing in front of shelves stacked with the vintage recycling bags. “Now look at me. Fifty pence a roll. Cash only. No change.”

Market sources report that queues stretched past Valley Vinyl and nearly reached end of the queue that was queuing for Greggs, Mary Fringe from Blaenllechau said, “It’s absolutely ridiculous really, I couldn’t tell where the Greggs queue ended and the bag queue started, so I aimed for the middle of the crowd.”

Rhondda residents say the old bags, famed for their ability to withstand a full week of crushed cans and damp cardboard without splitting, are now a sought-after relic of a more civilised age.

 “The new ones tear if you so much as look at them funny,” complained one shopper. “Last week my entire week’s recycling escaped down the street, good job it was windy, as it all blew away.”

Councillor Lyndon Flapps defended the switch, claiming the new bags are “more eco-friendly” and “encourage mindful recycling practices” — which roughly translates to “you’ll need to double-bag it, pal.”

Asked if he felt any guilt about profiteering from the crisis, Mike simply shrugged: “Supply and demand. That’s capitalism, mun.”

My Rhondda News has since learned that Mike Casagrande has started selling his stock of the old style bags back to the council at a reduced rate as he is cheaper than the council’s current supplier of the new bags.  Flapps refused to comment on this point.