North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood called for a Welsh Government Statement on refuse and bin bag collections yesterday after concerns regarding black bin bag collections were raised with him by Flintshire constituents.
Mr Isherwood said a number of residents have expressed concern that they are no longer allowed to leave additional black bin bags alongside their black bin, and are worried this could lead to fly-tipping.
Raising the matter in yesterday’s Business Statement, Mr Isherwood said:
“I call for a statement on refuse and bin bag collection - something often raised here, but not in the part of Wales I'm about to refer to.
“Concerns have been raised with me in Flintshire, from Higher Kinnerton to Holywell, that people are no longer allowed to leave any extra black bin bags alongside the council-provided black bin. One constituent told me she'd rung County Hall and was told it had been decided and it was to force people to recycle, but she added: 'I and many others still have non-recyclable refuse to dispose of from time to time, and this is when the Council’s policy falls down and creates fly-tipping.'
“She said the policy of charging £50 by the Council to take away a single item was, in her words, outrageous, and she simply can't understand why the Council prefers to send out individual lorries to deal with fly tipping rather than collect everything in one go from the pavement. She concluded: 'I'm writing to you to urge you to raise this issue - one of the things that really affects people's day-to-day lives.'
“Hence my raising it in the Chamber with you today.”
Leader of the House and Chief Whip Julie James AM said in terms of domestic waste collection, it is a matter for individual local authorities to decide how best to provide collection services to their residents.
She added: “The Welsh Government advocates that local authorities provide comprehensive weekly collection services for dry recyclables and food waste, with a view to residents who make full use of the weekly recycling collections having very little to put in the residual refuse bags or bins. During First Ministers Questions, the Member will have an heard an answer in which Wales's extremely good rate in terms of recycling was lauded, quite rightly so, and what I would say to the Member is that if his local authority is struggling, they should look for help from other local authorities who have very good practice in this area.”