Council backs plan for three-weekly bin collections

Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter

The ruling administration on a council is being urged to scrap controversial plans to introduce three-weekly black bin collections.

Flintshire’s Labour-led cabinet backed proposals to collect general waste once every three weeks instead of fortnightly in July.

The decision was taken despite a backlash from residents and opposition leaders, who said it would result in an increase in fly-tipping, rats and bad smells.

Senior councillors said the change was needed to improve recycling rates after the authority was threatened with £1.2m fine by the Welsh Government for repeatedly missing targets.

Death threat

Council leader Ian Roberts resigned in late-July after hitting out at the public reaction to the move, which he said had seen an officer receive a death threat and councillors subjected to verbal abuse.

Members of the Flintshire People’s Voice group are now calling on his successor, who will be appointed at a meeting next week, to reconsider the plans after tabling a motion.

Penyffordd councillor Alasdair Ibbotson, one of five politicians who quit Labour to form their own party earlier this year, said: “Labour’s half-baked plan to scrap fortnightly bin collections in Flintshire is not supported by anyone.

“The council’s environment committee has twice unanimously refused to endorse it and council officers have opposed three-weekly collections as they won’t hit the targets Labour claim to be aiming for.

“Residents also overwhelmingly oppose it and not a single Labour councillor said at the last election that they would support this.

“Flintshire People’s Voice promised to fight this measure all the way, and our motion at full council is our next step.

“Every single councillor will now have to say, on the record, whether they want to cut residents’ bin collections or not.”

Cabinet members were originally asked by officers to approve a switch to monthly collections.

Petition

It came after they were told the council had failed to meet the Welsh Government recycling target of 64 per cent for the last four financial years, with the goal recently increased to 70.

However, Cllr Roberts tabled an amendment at July’s cabinet meeting to change the frequency to three weekly after more than 3,000 people signed a petition against the plans.

An attempt by opposition councillors to send the decision to a full council meeting to be examined was later rejected by a narrow margin after it was called in for scrutiny.

The Flintshire People’s Voice group’s motion calling for the new council leader to scrap the proposals will be debated by all 67 members of the authority on Tuesday (September 24, 2024).