PLANS to scrap the weekly black bin bag collection in Flintshire have been put on hold.
Members of the council’s environment and regeneration scrutiny committee refused to support recommendations to do away with the weekly collection of residual waste and replace it with a ‘managed weekly collection despite the fact that the council’s executive had rubberstamped the proposals on Tuesday.
The decision came after councillors Aaron Shotton and Bernie Attridge called for a review of the proposals over concerns regarding a lack of public consultation.
Cllr Shotton said: “I am not a Luddite or against progress. Every member is behind the principles of this report, those principles being to divert waste from landfill.
“This isn’t about being belligerent, it’s about bringing the people of Flintshire with us on an important matter.
“It will be a fortnightly collection for people in flats and maybe in terraced houses.
There are many people who won’t be able to receive this service and what happens to them?
“We need to know what the policy is behind this before it’s been ratified and I’m concerned that there is no policy.
“How can any member put their name to this before they know exactly what it means for the people they represent.”
But Carl Longland, the council’s director of environment, said special provisions would be put in place for people who could not receive the service.
“We recognise that high rise and terraced properties will be more difficult to collect from and to accommodate wheelie bins,” he said.
“With these households we have suggested continuing with the black sacks and weekly collection. That’s why we need the scrutiny committee to help us identify these properties.”
Under the new proposals food waste will be collected every week and recyclables and residual waste will be collected on a fortnightly basis. The black sacks will also be replaced with wheelie bins.
Officers had hoped to introduce the scheme by November or risk losing ringfenced funding of £1million that had been provided by the Welsh Assembly for the project.
A special ‘Call In’ meeting will be held within 10 days where it will be decided whether to support the proposals or refer it back to the executive or to full council.