91-year-old has only had bins collected once since April

Alec Doyle, local democracy reporter

A 91-year-old resident who reported problems with her brown bin collections to the council has only had one waste collection since April.

Wylma Parker from Mynydd Isa reported to Flintshire council earlier this year that her brown garden waste bin collections had stopped earlier than they should before Christmas and had not resumed in 2025 until recently, despite her paying for the service.

Her close friend Glenys Davies from Mold and Glenys’ son from Broughton had similar issues.

Now 83-year-old Glenys, who visits Wylma regularly, says her friend has not had a bin collection of any kind for some time and the situation is causing her distress.

Stressed

“She is getting very worked up and stressed about it because her recycling and black bins are overflowing,” said Glenys.

“It got so bad about a month ago I went outside and stood in front of the bin lorry to stop it moving on until they took her bins.

“They did it then but they’ve not been back since. It shouldn’t be this way.”

According to Glenys, waste management workers told her Wylma was no longer on the assisted collections list.

“She’s been on it for years, she’s 91 and recently had an operation,” said Glenys. “I’m on it too and neither of us have had any correspondence from the council about needing to re-register for the service and my collection has continued uninterrupted.”

Review

Flintshire County said it had recently conducted an annual review of assisted waste collection services to update its records.

“The annual review is to ensure all records remain accurate and up to date,” said a council spokesperson.

“As part of this review, all households currently receiving assisted collections were sent a letter in January and asked to reapply for the service within 31 days. This process helps the council confirm ongoing eligibility and maintain a fair and efficient service for residents who genuinely need assistance.

“Households that did not respond within the specified timeframe were subsequently removed from the assisted collection schedule.

“The council would like to remind residents that Assisted Waste Collections are subject to an annual review, Anyone who still requires the service but has been removed as part of this review may reapply at any time.

“Applications can be submitted online via the Flintshire County Council website, by calling 01352 701234 or via connects centres. More information, is available on the Flintshire County Council website.

“If a missed collection is logged (black bin), our crews aim to return within three working days, subject to the availability of resources. If your scheduled collection falls on a Friday, the three working days will commence on Monday, as weekends are not considered working days.

“To report a missed collection visit the Flintshire Council website and go to ‘Report a collection problem’.”