Enforcement action to restart next week on Flintshire residents who leave ‘side’ waste next to wheelie bins

Households in Flintshire who leave additional bin bags at the side of the normal wheelie bins could face enforcement action from next week.

Flintshire Council is reintroducing measures to take formal action on those who continually leave rubbish outside their bins starting from September 6.

The local authority placed sanctions on hold when the coronavirus pandemic broke out in March last year because of the risk to the safety of enforcement officers, who are required to root through bin bags for evidence when offences occur.

Refuse collectors have gathered an additional 3,000 tonnes of residual waste from residential properties, a 12% increase in comparison to the previous year, “which has had a negative impact on our recycling performance.” The council has said.

“Consequently, we will be reintroducing side waste enforcement on kerbside residual waste collections from September 2021. This means that, if you present more waste in addition to your wheelie bin, our crews will not collect your extra waste.” A Flintshire council spokesperson said.

Officials have said that most households “should be able to fit their residual waste – that is waste that cannot be recycled –  into their wheelie bin, particularly if they are making use of the kerbside recycling collection service.”

“We collect recycling every week and there is no limit on the amount of recycling residents can place out for collection, so if additional bags or boxes are needed, these can be provided as necessary.” The council has said.

There are a minority of households not making use of the recycling service which is unacceptable for a number of reasons, including, environmental problems by bags splitting causing waste to spill onto the streets.

The council also points to the financial cost of disposing of residual waste and “lost potential income from the sale of recyclable materials.”

Flintshire’s Cabinet Member for Streetscene, Councillor Glyn Banks, said:

“Throughout the years, the majority of Flintshire residents have made full use of the recycling services provided to them at the kerbside and we thank them for that.”

“However, there is a small minority that don’t. recycle and we want to reach out to these individuals and assist them with making the correct choices when disposing of their household waste.”

“The process for side waste enforcement is a three-staged approach with the initial emphasis on informing and educating residents on the correct way to present their waste and recycling.”

“Formal action for continued non–compliance is taken only when no improvement is observed following the first stage.”

“Evidence has shown us that the education stage makes a significant impact on residents’ waste disposal habits and therefore improves our recycling performance.”

More information on the side waste process can be found on the Council’s website.