Flintshire: Bid to scrap three-weekly bin collections fails

The local authority's 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 councillors, who said it would result in an increase in fly-tipping, rats and bad smells.

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

Officers said reducing the frequency of collections would boost the county's recycling performance by 4.5 per cent, taking it up to 66 per cent overall.

However, there have been several attempts to try and scrap the proposals during the last few months, with the latest motion being heard at a full council meeting in Mold yesterday (Thursday, 25 October).

It was tabled by members of the Flintshire People's Voice group, who accused the ruling Labour-independent administration of pursuing the plans for financial reasons as officials said it would achieve annual savings of £654,000.

Introducing the motion, Cllr Alasdair Ibbotson also highlighted it would not be sufficient to meet the devolved government's recently-increased target for 70 per cent of all waste to be recycled.

Cllr Alasdair Ibbotson pictured outside County Hall in MoldThe Penyffordd councillor said: “The decision to move to three weekly bin collections, according to the council's own figures, will not see us hit the recycling target that the Welsh Government has set of 70 per cent.

“These changes have not been brought in because of the climate impact. They have been brought in to save money, and the administration should have the decency to admit that.

“There have been Labour councillors who have expressed their deep disquiet in private regarding this change.

“This council now has the chance to listen to the people of Flintshire who do not want worse services and higher council tax and who do not want to see bin collections reduced.”

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

It came after they were told the council had failed to meet the government's previous recycling target of 64 per cent for the last four financial years.

An amendment was then suggested and approved at July's cabinet meeting to change the frequency to three-weekly after more than 3,000 people signed a petition against the plans.

While it was acknowledged that the proposals would not meet the government's latest target in isolation, Flintshire's cabinet member for environment said it was a necessary step.

Chris Dolphin, from the Eagle independent group, said: “We've got to get there somehow, and this will help us get there.

“It won't achieve that target, but send us well on the way, and we have to prove to Welsh Government we are trying to do that.”

Cllr Glyn Banks, Flintshire's recently-appointed cabinet member for streetscene, also spoke in favour of the proposals.

It came despite the Mostyn councillor, who rejoined Labour in August having sat in opposition as an independent, previously being a vocal critic of the plans.

He said: “I'm not going to hide away from it, I wasn't massively happy with it, but nobody is.

“The cabinet's decision to end fortnightly black bin collection is deeply regrettable, but also unavoidable.

“It's something we've got to do, and hopefully events in the future will prove that we're making the right decisions here.”

He stressed that recycling collections would still take place on a weekly basis.

Cllr Simon Jones (Lab) criticised Cllr Ibbotson for bringing the motion forward due to his role as chair of the council's climate change committee.

He said his opponent should support measures to reduce carbon emissions and signalled his intention to trigger a vote to remove him from the position.

Meanwhile, Cllr David Healey (Lab) described the motion as "a populist time-wasting exercise" and called for the authority's constitution to be altered to prevent similar debates from taking place.

However, Cllr Bernie Attridge (Ind) warned the reduction in the frequency of collections would lead to an increase in fly-tipping.

He said: “If you drive from the Queensferry roundabout to Kelsterton College and see what we have to put up with on a daily basis, three-weekly bin collections will make that worse.

“If our recycling service was perfect, then I might have a different view. But until such time that we do have a recycling service which is fit for purpose, this is an opportunity to stand up for the residents of Flintshire.”

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Labour council leader Dave Hughes later said he would not reconsider the proposals.

He said: “The decision to move to a three-weekly black bin collection has not been taken lightly, and I appreciate this will be a significant change for Flintshire residents.

“However, the decision has been through a rigorous governance and democratic process and due consultation.

“I am therefore not prepared to reconsider this decision and will not cancel the move to a three-weekly collection.”

The motion was defeated at the end of the debate with 31 votes against and 24 in favour.