Concerns residents being misled over waste collections
Posted on Friday 6th October 2017
The cabinet member for Streetscene, Councillor Roger Jeavons, said he was very concerned that people might be misled over what is being considered by the council on improving its waste services.
And he gave his assurance that three weekly collections are not on the agenda when the council considers its budget for the coming year.
“We have a working party which is looking at ways we can deliver the service that will result in an increase in recycling. This working group is considering all aspects of waste management and recycling, and everything must be on the table.
“Some suggestions may be progressed, whilst others may be removed, and at this stage three weekly collections are not part of our budget considerations.
“Misleading statements to suggest otherwise is just scaremongering and upsetting for our residents.
“We have thousands more houses being built across the city which have to be added to our routes, so we are looking at ways to make our collections more efficient.
“It does not mean the introduction of three weekly collections. We are well aware our residents do not want this and it is currently not on our agenda
“However recycling is a priority for the council and we might have to consider further measures if people choose not to participate in our recycling schemes,” said Cllr Jeavons.
In a statement made to the local press today Councillor Chris Evans, a member of Newport Independent Party, said people “shouldn’t be bounced into bin collections every three weeks.”
A spokesperson for the council said Cllr Evans, as a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee scrutinising the Council’s waste policies, is aware of the visit made to Conwy by the member working group looking at the council’s waste strategy.
However, it is wrong to assume that because Conwy has three weekly collections that Newport will follow suit. The visit was undertaken to look at all aspects of Conwy’s waste management and recycling approaches, and will report back to the Scrutiny Committee in due course.
This visit was not paid for by Newport City Council but was a fact finding mission funded by the Welsh Government.