A DATE has been set for the implementation of three-weekly bin collections in Flintshire. 

Flintshire Council's Environment and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on Tuesday (November 12) to vote on plans to implement the change in bin collections in April. 

A report detailing the plans for the implementation were presented, before members voted in favour. The change will come into effect on April 28, 2025.

The controversial plans to move to collections every three weeks were approved by FCC in July, despite almost 3,000 people signing a petition opposing the idea.

Now, from April 2025, collections will switch to a three-weekly schedule as part of the council's drive to increase recycling rates and meet new national targets.

The local authority said that the end of April allows time to ensure the correct procedures are undertaken, as well as avoiding holidays such as Christmas and Easter, where residents may not be home. 

In a bid to manage the transition in service, a project group has been established to progress the change, meeting on a weekly basis.

Several individual workstreams have been established by this group leading to a number of sub-projects, working on things such as: 

  • Residual and recycling round reviews (including five-day working Monday to Friday)
  • Collection container stock review and new recycling bag trial
  • Staffing and resource reviews in consultation with employees and Trade Unions 
  • Time and motion studies of existing working practice
  •  Fleet vehicle review for waste and recycling collection services

In addition, the local authority have put together a communication plan aimed at educating residents on their waste and recycling as well as the change to the three weekly collections.

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As part of that, a social media campaign is set to be launched. There are also plans for a door knocking campaign to get underway in January, to ensure residents are aware of the changes. 

Questions were asked about the communication plan, with Chair of the Committee, Cllr David Evans calling for the door knocking campaign to be started immediately. 

Cllr Evans' call comes amid issues with communal collection areas and shared homes across the county, which was backed by Cllr Richard Lloyd. 

Katie Wilby, Chief Officer for Streetscene and Transportation said that discussions were ongoing regarding the best course of action for the door knocking, aiming to ensure catching people at home, during evenings or over weekends.