The proposal, which has been put to the authority’s scrutiny committee, could soon be put to Conwy county borough council’s cabinet for final approval.
Conwy achieved an overall recycling rate of 59% in 2014/15 – placing it among the highest performers in Wales.
The authority is already in line to achieve 60% in 2015/16, 2% over the statutory target of 58% set by the Welsh Government.
However, council officers in the North Wales borough now predict that Conwy’s recycling rate is at risk of ‘reaching a plateau’ meaning it will not meet more ambitious 70% target set for 2024/25.
In addition to achieving statutory targets, the report notes, the council incurs ‘enormous costs’ for residual waste disposal which adds up to ‘£11,500 per collection day’. This means a total estimated annual cost of £2.9 million.
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).
Survey
A waste composition survey carried out by the council in July 2015, supported by the Welsh Government and WRAP Cymru, meanwhile identified around 51.6% of materials placed in the residual bins for landfill is in fact suitable for recycling.
A further 12.6% of recyclables placed in the residual bin could also be taken to a household waste recycling centre (HWRC). Some 23.5% of the residual bin contents is food waste which the report states does not reach the council’s AD plants.
The report states that “a four weekly residual waste collection option in Conwy would provide the weekly equivalent of 60 litres volume capacity for householders. This would be equivalent to what is currently offered by Powys and more than Monmouthshire which has a 50-litre equivalent capacity per week for non-recyclable waste”.
When surveyed, around 41.2% of respondent householders in Conwy initially noted that they could manage if the wheelie bin was collected less often. However 55.4% of respondents noted that they could manage if separate nappy collections, additional Christmas collection and extra bins for larger families were considered.
Timetable
If a decision is reached, Conwy is expected to take up to four months to prepare for the roll out of four-weekly collections after re-routing fleets, staff training and communicating with residents.
A number of authorities across the country have looked at four-weekly collections, with Fife in Scotland conducting trials in September last year (see letsrecycle.com story). However, no councils have fully committed to the move.
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