Plans for weekly nappy collection service in Flintshire approved by senior councillors

Plans to introduce a nappy collection service in Flintshire have been given the green light after being delayed by Covid-19.

Flintshire Council placed the rollout of the weekly service on hold last March when the coronavirus pandemic began.

The scheme will now be launched at the start of November after being rubber-stamped by members of the local authority’s cabinet.

The aim is to reduce the amount of rubbish placed in residents’ black bins to meet a national target of recycling 70 per cent of waste by 2025.

Labour cabinet member for social services Christine Jones said she believed the new service would be well-received by the public.

Speaking at a meeting held this morning (Tuesday, 21 September), she said: “I think it’s a long time coming with the pandemic putting it on hold.

“A lot of residents will really welcome this service for the collection of nappies.

“I’ve had a lot of requests from young mums in my ward asking when we’re going to be starting it.”

Applications for the service are set to open from the start of October, according to a report to senior councillors.

People who apply online or by phone will be provided with an orange box and plastic bags to put their disposable nappies in.

The service will be targeted at households who use a large amount of nappies or incontinence products but don’t have enough space in their bins.

The council said it was expecting up to 20 per cent of residents to apply, with £282,000 provided by the Welsh Government to fund the scheme.

It forms part of a wider range of initiatives to improve recycling rates in Flintshire after performance dipped to just over 64 per cent in 2020/21, compared to 65.6 per cent the previous year.

Cllr Glyn Banks, cabinet member for streetscene, told the meeting: “The impact of Covid has resulted in significant changes in volumes of waste and recycling collected from residential properties.

“A lot of this has been due to the fact that people have worked from home instead of visiting offices, so it’s led to an awful lot more recycling at kerbside.

“This has resulted in a downturn in performance to 64.04 per cent for 2020/21.”

Cabinet members unanimously backed measures to meet the recycling target, including the introduction of the nappy collection service.

Other steps include launching an campaign to educate people on what can be recycled, with officials planning to attend local events to boost awareness.

Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).