Black bags – pose your questions to council director
The public consultation over Bridgend County Borough Council’s proposed changes to waste collections takes to social media this week, as Twitter and Facebook users will be invited to take part in an online Q&A session.
The council’s Corporate Director for Communities, Mark Shephard will be logging on to the local authority’s social media accounts from 5.30 – 6.30pm this Thursday 4 February to answer local residents’ questions.
To submit a question, please visit the council’s social media accounts at www.twitter.com/bridgendcbc or www.facebook.com/bridgendcbc at 5.30pm on Thursday evening. Instructions for how to get involved on Facebook will be posted on the council’s account ahead of the Q&A, while Twitter users can get their questions in early by using the hashtag #BCBCwaste.
With demanding new recycling targets being introduced by Welsh Government, Bridgend County Borough Council needs to upgrade its current kerbside collection service to improve recycling levels and reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill. The authority’s current 58 per cent recycling target will increase to 64 per cent in 2019-20, before rising again to 70 per cent by 2024-25.
The council’s waste consultation is asking residents to give their opinions on the following options for how often black bags should be collected in the future;
Option one: Fortnightly collections that are restricted to two black bags.
Option two: Three week collections that are restricted to three black bags.
Option three: Four week collections with unrestricted black bags.
All three options have resulted in increased recycling rates after being introduced or trialled by councils elsewhere in the UK. Bridgend County Borough Council’s waste consultation also invites residents for their views on proposals to introduce a nappy recycling service, whether they would prefer to store their waste in black bags or wheelie bins, and if they agree with proposed changes to how some household waste amenity sites operate.
Corporate Director for Communities, Mark Shephard said: “How often should we collect refuse? Would people prefer to use wheelie bins or black bags? Should we introduce a nappy recycling service? These are big questions for local residents, and it’s important that we give everybody the opportunity to let us know their preferences.
“Our social media accounts have become and effective way for residents to communicate with us, which is why we are using them increasingly as part of our public consultations.
“The Twitter and Facebook Q&As that we held as part of our recent Shaping Bridgend’s Future consultation were viewed almost 50,000 times, which shows that this is a great way for us to connect directly with large numbers of citizens.
“Our residents’ opinions are important to us, and we’re committed to listening to what they have to say about significant alterations to council services, such as our proposed changes to our existing kerbside refuse collection service.
“Any future collection service needs to strike a balance between understanding the preferences of local residents, meeting Welsh Government recycling targets and keeping costs affordable.
“I am looking forward to speaking with local people and seeing first-hand their responses to our proposals on Thursday evening.”
The council’s waste consultation runs until Monday 8 February. For further details and to fill in an online survey about the proposals, please visit www.bridgend.gov.uk/consultation.
For more information, call the Consultation team on (01656) 643664 or email consultation@bridgend.gov.uk.
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