Three-weekly bins saved Flintshire nearly £600,000 in nine months as recycling rate hits 75%
Flintshire County Council’s switch to three-weekly black bin collections has saved £589,517 in waste disposal costs in nine months, with the recycling rate reaching its highest level on record.
The saving came as the average weekly tonnage sent to the Parc Adfer energy-from-waste facility fell from 421 tonnes to 354 tonnes between April and December 2025.
The figures go before the Environment and Economy scrutiny committee next Tuesday.
The three-weekly collection schedule was introduced in April 2025 after years of missing the Welsh Government’s statutory recycling target, a move more than 3,300 residents signed a petition opposing.
The recycling rate reached 70.87% in the first quarter of 2025/26, up from 66.78% in the same period the previous year.
The second quarter saw a sharper rise, reaching 75.13% compared with 65.09% a year earlier.
Overall performance for the year to date stands at 72.88%, above the Welsh Government’s statutory threshold of 70%.
Food waste collections increased by more than 800 tonnes compared with the previous year, which the report identifies as a key driver of the improvement.
Of 5,326,782 collections scheduled since the service change, 12,920 were reported as missed, a success rate of 99.76%.
The council identified 1,098 properties, around 1.48% of households, that logged five or more missed collections, most in rural areas.
Flintshire County Council has applied to Welsh Government for funding to buy three specialist vehicles to improve collection coverage in those areas.
Despite the improved performance, the council still faces potential infraction fines for missing the 70% target in 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25, with the total expected to exceed £1 million.
A £663,000 fine for 2021/22 was waived by Welsh Government last year.
The Environment and Economy committee voted in February to write to Welsh Government urging it to waive the outstanding penalties, citing the progress made since the bin change.
Cllr Glyn Banks, Cabinet Member for Waste and Transportation, said previously: “These early results are very encouraging and show that changes we’ve made are having the intended impact.
“I want to thank residents for the effort they are making to recycle more and adapt to our new collection arrangements.”
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