‘Recycle your food’ mega-billboards turn up in Flintshire prompting one resident to ask “which lunatic put that there”

UPDATE:

True to the word of both the leader and deputy leader of Flintshire County Council the billboards were removed on Wednesday.

On the day when new figures released by the Welsh Government showed Flintshire County Council has increased the amount of municipal waste it recycles and reuses by a massive 10% to 65% in the last 12 months – somebody went and plonked equally massive billboards in prominent spots around Flintshire ordering people to recycle food waste.

All the signs that have appeared across Flintshire regarding recycling have been put up without permission they will be gone in the morning

— bernie attridge (@bernieatto) February 28, 2017

Initially, the new signs were thought to be the handiwork of cash-strapped Flintshire County Council, due in part to a 1ft high council logo adorning the promotional ‘recycle your food’ sloganed 12 ft high billboards.

Latest figures show recycling rates have increased to 65% in Flintshire

One local resident contacted Deeside.com after driving past one of the signs on Central Drive in Shotton saying “Which lunatic put that there? I nearly crashed my bleeding car trying to read it”

The huge sign next to the Chinese takeaway in Higher Shotton, which is written in English and Welsh, asks residents of Shotton to recycle their tea bags and coffee grounds.

Many marketing campaigns employ demographic research companies to carefully study the makeup of areas in an effort to maximise the impact their ‘messages’

Researchers for the government funded ‘recycle your food’ campaign have no doubt made the careful assumption that many households in the Higher Shotton own Gaggia type espresso machines and thus lots of coffee grounds are being disposed of in general waste by careless would be baristas, his hasn’t been confirmed by anyone as yet.

Deeside.com

The mega billboards supplied by Trotter UK left one bewildered councillor saying they were a “total waste of Welsh Government funding – Flintshire County Council have a very good recycling rate and even though Saltney is not top of the class – a sign like that will not help in any way at all” adding  “Party Brewery – desktop disaster!!!”

Sealand councillor Christine Jones was left fuming after one of the free standing ‘windproof’ super signs was dumped on Sealand Avenue.

Cllr Jones took to Facebook to tell residents she had made her views clear on the signs and had asked for the one in Sealand to be removed ASAP!

One comment on Cllr Jones post said: “The lorry that brought the sign blocked all our driveways for 20 mins and then held up the traffic on the main road for 20 mins.”

Paul Wylie

It wasn’t long before a freedom of information was sent to Flintshire County Council, asking:

“Are you able to tell me how much the recycling advertising boards that have been erected across Flintshire have cost in total.

The second part of this request is, what funding has been used please?”

Its believed Welsh Government backed WRAP Cymru, which in turns runs the ‘Recycle for Wales’ national recycling campaign are behind the billboard campaign.

WRAP are supported and funded by the Welsh Government and have been “adopted locally by local authorities” according to their website, less than impressed Leader of Flintshire County Council Aaron Shotton said:

“The signs have not been funded by the Council (Flintshire)… have not been agreed and will be removed asap… I believe this is the Welsh Gov sponsored body responsible.”