PLANS to change waste and recycling collections in Denbighshire have been given the go-ahead.

Denbighshire County Council’s Cabinet met on Tuesday to consider a 'confidential' report by cllr Brian Jones, lead member for Highways, Planning and Sustainable Travel.

It was agreed that Denbighshire will follow Conwy’s lead and introduce a change to the collection of non-recyclable waste to every four weeks.

Changes also include:

  • A new weekly collection for recyclables such as paper, glass, cans, and plastic
  • A new weekly collection for nappies and incontinence wear
  • A weekly collection for food waste and new fortnightly collection for clothes and small electrical items.

The local authority say the aim is to encourage more recycling on top of the council’s current rates (64 per cent) to meet the Welsh Government’s 70 per cent target by 2025, with an expectancy that the target will rise to 80 per cent.

A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: “If residents use the recycling service correctly, it should only result in a minimal amount of residual waste being created.

"As a result, the council will be changing the collection of non-recyclable waste to every four weeks for the majority of households.

“Residents will be issued with a bigger black bin if they need one, but overall, households would have more capacity each week for managing their waste than they have with our current service.

“The new weekly recycling service (using a Trollibloc system) would provide more capacity for recycling when compared to the current fortnightly collection with the blue wheelie bin.

“Residents will be able to free up even more space in their black bin by using new kerbside recycling services for textiles, small electrical goods, batteries and where needed, nappies and incontinence waste.”

Cllr Jones’s report detailed the outcome of the modelling carried out to identify the best new operating model for waste and recycling services and seeking members’ determination on the suitability of the proposed new service design.

Cllr Jones said: “This has been a big decision for the council and these proposals have been explored and considered at great length.

“Whilst we are delighted that the change has been approved, the hard work of preparing for the changes and working with communities begins today. We have taken on board the comments received as part of a consultation we arranged and we want to make the transition to the new service as seamless as possible.

“This proposed new way of working will certainly make the county more environmentally friendly, it will make residents consider what and how they recycle and will also save money through implementing a more efficient and effective service”.

The Welsh Government has committed £7.9 million towards the service. This funding will be used to develop the infrastructure necessary to enable the council to change the service.

An information campaign is set to be launched by Denbighshire Council.

New facilities, needed to support the service, should be in place early 2021.

The whole county will be moved across to the new service by July 2021.