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Cabinet agrees to three-weekly bin collections

Published: 23/07/2024

Flintshire County’s Cabinet has agreed to move to three-weekly bin collections in a bid to boost recycling rates in the county.

Officers had recommended implementing a four-weekly bin collection over a five day working week, however, Cabinet members agreed to compromise and opted to introduce collections every three weeks.

From 2024/25, Welsh Government’s statutory target for the amount of waste prepared to be reused, recycled and composted has increased to 70% (previously 64%).

To help achieve this ambitious target locally, the Council consulted with the public on a new Resource and Waste Strategy in early 2024, with 40% of people either agreeing or strongly agreeing to a restricted residual waste capacity model.

Although it is acknowledged that many residents are recycling as much as they can, which is helping us to achieve around 62% recycling, recent compositional analysis shows that around 58% of waste in black bins can be recycled. Residents already have the tools needed (weekly recycling collections and weekly food waste collections at at the kerbside and five household recycling centres) to manage waste and recycle as much as they can to free up space in the black bins for non-recyclable waste.

Councillor Dave Hughes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Streetscene and Transportation, said: “After listening to feedback from our communities, Cabinet has decided the best option moving forward is to introduce a three weekly bin collection. This will allow us to move closer to Welsh Government’s 70% recycling target while still providing a high-quality service to residents.

“Households are already fully-equipped with the tools to make a big difference when it comes to recycling, and many residents are doing all they can. The transition to a new waste collection model should have minimal impact on residents if they fully utilise the weekly recycling and food waste collection services already provided.”

Katie Wilby, Chief Officer Streetscene and Transportation added: “Although Wales is second in the world when it comes to recycling, Flintshire has failed to achieve the statutory targets set by Welsh Government over the last four years. It is therefore vitally important that Flintshire improves its performance to avoid significant fines from Welsh Government and achieve the targets.”