The details of the changes to the collection regime were finalised by Conwy’s Improved Recycling Task & Finish Group on Tuesday (10 May), after an initial decision to make changes to the service by the council’s Cabinet in February.
Changes have been drawn up to reduce the cost of collection services and are intended to stimulate an increase in recycling.
A waste composition survey carried out by the council in July 2015, supported by the Welsh Government and WRAP Cymru, identified around 51.6% of materials placed in the residual bins for landfill is in fact suitable for recycling – which the council estimates has a value of around £1.6 million.
Trial
A reduction to four-weekly refuse collections had initially been proposed to be implemented across the borough, however this was met with resistance from councillors at the February meeting. Councillors instead approved a trial of four-weekly collections to assess the impact of such a switch (see letsrecycle.com story).
At present, households receive a fortnightly collection of residual waste, using a 240-litre wheeled bin. Collections of recyclables are done on a weekly basis, using a stackable ‘Trolibocs’ container to separately collect materials. The stackable boxes were rolled out across the borough throughout 2014 and 2015 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Under the changes, recyclables and food waste will continue to be collected on a weekly basis.
The four-weekly trial is still being finalised, but when rolled out will include all households who currently have Monday as their refuse collection day, with all other days using the three-weekly schedule.
App
In order to prepare residents for the collection frequency switch the council has launched a free smartphone app for both iOS and Android devices, which offers a weekly collection reminder, information on recyclable materials and alerts if collections are delayed.
Residents have also been offered extra recycling containers if they produce ‘large amounts’ of recyclables, while reminders are being issued to update residents on using the council’s food waste service.
Conwy achieved an overall recycling rate of 59% in 2014/15 – placing it among the highest performers in Wales. However, council officers predict that Conwy’s recycling rate is at risk of ‘reaching a plateau’ meaning it may not meet Wales’ 70% target set for 2024/25.
Three-weekly
Three-weekly residual waste collections are becoming increasingly common across the UK as councils seek to find measures to cut service costs and boost the tonnage of recyclables collected from householders.
Pioneers of reduced residual collection frequency services include Falkirk (see letsrecycle.com story), which moved its green bin residual waste collections to a three weekly service in May 2014, and Gwynedd in Wales which began the rollout of a three weekly service to residents in October 2014 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Three-weekly collections have also spread to England, where Bury became the first local authority to adopt the service, also in late 2014.
Four-weekly collections are also being trialled in some areas, with Fife in the east of Scotland in particular looking at the move (see letsrecycle.com story).
Subscribe for free