Welsh Conservatives have slammed Conwy County Council’s decision to introduce a year-long pilot of four-weekly bin collections – a move set to affect over 10,000 households over the hottest summer months.
Seventeen towns and villages across Conwy will be affected by the Council's action.
The news is likely to further unsettle local residents who have already been informed by the Council that refuse collections will now take place every three weeks as opposed to two.
Clwyd West AM Darren Millar and Aberconwy AM Janet Finch-Saunders say they strongly condemn the action and have called for an urgent meeting with the Council’s Chief Executive, Iwan Davies, to delay the pilot, pending further consultation with stakeholders.
They believe that cutting the frequency of bin collections to four weeks will not achieve its desired aim of encouraging recycling, but will instead cause bad odours, pests, increased instances of littering and fly-tipping.
Conwy’s Improved Recycling Task and Finish Group met on Tuesday to finalise plans for changing refuse bin collection to every three weeks, with recycling and food waste still to be collected every week.
A trial for four-weekly refuse collections will also be launched, as agreed by Conwy’s Cabinet earlier this year, and will include all households who currently have Monday as their refuse collection day.
Millar, who has been leading a campaign to protect fortnightly bin collections in Conwy, has criticised decision makers for planning to start the pilot in a tourist area at the height of the summer season. He said:
“I am very concerned that the trial is commencing over the summer months when our visitor economy may be affected by the changes.
“There should have been a consultation on the timescale for rollout and on the location of the pilot – but instead 10,000 households across Conwy are now facing the fairly imminent prospect of a whole year of monthly bin collections for non-recyclable waste.
“This is going to be a real struggle for some families. There are many items which are not recyclable at all such as sanitary products, medical dressings, clinical products and the like. Special bins for such products may make people targets for criminals.
“Reducing the frequency of bin collections is unlikely to improve recycling rates, it will just lead to problems with odours, litter, fly-tipping and pests which will inevitably cost Conwy County Council more.
“I hope the Chief Executive listens to the concerns I have raised and I look forward to meeting with him to discuss the matter."
Janet Finch-Saunders AM said: “I am strongly opposed to Conwy County Borough Council’s plans for monthly refuse collection, which is likely not only to negatively affect the local environment and inconvenience residents, but also to impact on tourism, on which so much of the region’s economy depends.
“I call on the Council’s Cabinet to put these plans on hold until a workable resolution can be reached – a process which must involve local residents and other stakeholders.”