Council accused of failing to consult residents about changes to rubbish collections

Anthony Lewis, local democracy reporter

Residents weren’t consulted on changes to the way rubbish is collected in a Welsh county, councillors have been told.

Thousands of people have signed two petitions against the move from black bin to black bag collections in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) and one of the organisers claims there has been a lack of consultation.

On Monday, December 9, RCT’s overview and scrutiny committee discussed the petitions – one had 9,270 signatures and the other 2,502.

Kerbside collections

In July, the council’s cabinet approved a recommendation to standardise the collection method of residual household waste in the Cynon and Taf areas, in line with the method in the Rhondda, by moving from wheelie bin collections to kerbside collections of black bags only.

As part of this change, residents have the option to keep their wheelie bins to store waste bags, with a maximum of three bags to be placed out for collection at the kerbside every three weeks, as per the current allowance.

Kerri Thomas, who started one of the petitions, said: “There was no consultation. We were just told that this was what was coming.”

She said she heard about it on the same day that she read about New York moving from bags to bins and said: “I thought surely surely in a small place like RCT we can’t be going backwards. I thought New York were going forwards, we were going backwards and I thought I had to do something about it.”

She added: “There are people that are struggling. There are people who have asked for additional help and they haven’t received it… The process is too slow.

Mrs Thomas also said there is an issue with bags being ripped open by animals and went on to say: “We understand that you have got budget constraints. We understand recycling.”

But she said the public don’t understand why the council have not consulted them before bringing it in.

‘Worst system’

She asked why they are only allowed three black bags every three weeks, adding “surely RCT has got the worst system out of all the things we could have come up with”.

Mrs Thomas also said sending waste to an incinerator is not good for the environment.

She said: “People are not happy and they don’t feel that RCT are listening in this situation. We understand you have got constraints and they are real constraints by government but please, please, please listen to your public.

“Listen to the people who voted you in and respond with that so in the future please consider and consult on major changes, not have it enforced on us.”

A service update report which went before the committee said the rationale for standardising domestic refuse collections was to “enhance the council’s commitment to protecting the local environment and streetscape, meeting Welsh Government statutory recycling targets and helping to remove obstructions to help keep footways clear for the benefit of all, whilst provide residents with a more efficient service”.

Called in 

The decision was called in and referred to the overview and scrutiny committee, which decided not to refer the matter back to cabinet.

The report said the implementation of the change has gone well, with feedback from waste collection crews, the environmental awareness team and streetcare cleansing teams indicating streets have far fewer obstructions and collection rounds are more efficient. More than 97% of residents complying with the new arrangements.

Council data shows since September 30, the change has had a “very positive effect” with black bag waste reduced by 34%, dry mixed recycling increased by 8%, food waste recycling increased by 26%. and nappy recycling increased by 12%.

The report also said in recent months, since the change was agreed, teams have completed more than 200,000 household refuse collections with only 98 reports of missed collections and they have delivered to more than 13,000 residents who have signed up for recycling services.

This has included 8,000 food waste bins, 3,000 green waste sacks and 2,630 nappy recycling packs.

The report said all of this means, thanks to the efforts of residents and frontline council staff, RCT is on course to exceed the Welsh Government 70% recycling target by March 2025.

Vermin

Steve Williams, director of highways streetcare and transportation services, said if waste is disposed of correctly, vermin should not be an issue because there shouldn’t be food in residual waste bags.

He said there was no significant increase in bags being ripped open and people have said they’ve seen a reduction in their black bag waste and an improved streetscape as bins aren’t being left out for days.

He said: “Overall we have achieved what we set out to achieve.”

Councillor Ann Crimmings, cabinet member for environment and leisure, said: “Understandably changes to service delivery are often met with resistance especially when it concerns services that are integral to our daily life.”

She added: “I do feel the inaccurate posts on social media did not help the situation regarding the changes and it’s clear now that the implementation has been a success during this first three months.”

Cllr Crimmings said those who require assisted collections continue to receive the support they need and she hadn’t received any personal calls regarding that.

She said there had been an improvement to the streetscape, overall efficiency has improved and the council will continue to monitor service delivery.

Councillor Ros Davis said the 34% reduction in black bag waste is a “massive, massive impact” and the recycling system in RCT is quite simple compared to elsewhere.

Councillor Craig Middle said based on what is currently happening and the statistics it is very hard to challenge the success of the council in implementing the scheme but added it does need to take on board issues residents have.

Councillor Scott Emanuel said he thinks the figures speak for themselves and said the county borough had been very forward-looking.