Failing to make changes to black bin collections – not an option, says Flintshire Council

Failing to make changes to black bin collections in Flintshire is not an option, council officials have warned.

It follows a widespread backlash against proposals to move to monthly general waste collections in a bid to boost the county’s recycling rate.

More than 2,500 people have signed a petition calling on Flintshire Council to scrap the plans after backbench councillors also opposed them earlier this week.

Residents have raised concerns that it will result in large amounts of rubbish being dumped in the streets, attracting rats and causing a public health hazard.

Members of the local authority’s ruling Labour cabinet are due to decide whether to go ahead with the reduction in the frequency of collections at a meeting next week.

Officers have stressed that switching from the current fortnightly arrangement will be necessary if the council is to meet the new Welsh Government recycling target rate of 70 per cent.

It comes as the authority is currently facing the threat of fines totalling more than £1m after missing the lower goal of 64 per cent during the last four financial years.

Katie Wilby, Flintshire’s chief officer for streetscene and transportation, said: “We’re failing to achieve the statutory targets that have been set by Welsh Government.

“Despite our best efforts, the last time we achieved them was before the pandemic in 2019/20.

“We’ve got infraction fines which are still hanging over us, and they (ministers) can still levy those fines, even for previous financial years.

“They’re still waiting to decide what action they take, and it depends on the outcome of the next few weeks and any decisions that are taken.”

A modelling exercise was previously carried out by consultants looking at three options to improve the council’s recycling performance.

It found that moving to monthly collections, while keeping bins at their current size of 180 litres, would provide the most benefits. A weekly collection service for recycling containers will also be kept.

A report to senior councillors claims it would boost Flintshire’s current recycling performance of just under 63 per cent to almost 69, whilst delivering financial savings of up to £800,000 per year.

Dave Hughes, deputy leader of the council, said pressure from Welsh ministers was one of the main reasons for the proposals.

He said: “When we’re getting this pressure put on us, we can’t be seen not to do anything with the waste.

“We’ve got to play the game and show that we will do everything that we can to balance the books.

“If we can actually save money by people recycling, then that’s a massive plus for us.”

Ms Wilby said the switch would not happen overnight, with the council keen to avoid a repeat of the chaos witnessed when collections were recently changed in Denbighshire.

It saw thousands of household collections missed after a new recycling system was introduced.

She said: “We haven’t set a date as to when we’re going to implement this, so that’s still to be determined.

“We are fully aware of what’s happened at a neighbouring authority, and we don’t want that to happen in Flintshire.

“We will need the best plan in place to address a lot of the concerns that we’ve seen online and on social media.”

She added there would be no redundancies as part of the plans, with most savings coming from a reduction in the cost of disposing of general waste.

Some residents have voiced fears that moving to four-weekly collections will lead to an increase in fly-tipping.

However, officials said another area in North Wales saw a drop in rubbish being dumped after the frequency of collections was reduced.

Figures show that around 13,410 tonnes (58 per cent) of rubbish put in black bins by Flintshire residents during the 2022/23 financial year could have been recycled, around half of which was food waste.

Chantel Humphreys, the council’s waste strategy, said this was partly down to a false assumption that recycling food waste is unhygienic.

She said: “It’s about making residents aware that it’s probably more hygienic to put food waste in a food caddy, which is collected weekly, than it is to put it in your residual waste bin.

“It’s also making them aware of different tips and tricks they can use such as that caddies don’t need to be kept on kitchen surfaces.

“It can be put into a cupboard, and then transferred outside into a large caddy.”

The proposals will be discussed by cabinet members when they meet on Tuesday (July 23, 2024).

By Laim Randall – Local Democracy Reporter