Bins to roll out across the county

Thousands of households in Denbighshire are set to receive enhanced recycling services in the biggest roll-out of the x2 scheme the Council has ever undertaken.

By the end of November, around 11,000 of the 16,000 households that currently use sacks for recycling and refuse collection will be in receipt of the very popular x2 service provided to 27,000 households already.

This big switch to bins has been made possible by replacing older refuse trucks and pick-ups with smaller refuse trucks that can be fitted with the necessary lifting equipment for wheeled bins.

This means that wheeled bins can now be used in previously inaccessible narrow streets and many country.

The effectiveness of the x2 service is such that it has helped Denbighshire residents take recycling to the highest levels achieved in Wales – despite only two-thirds of households receiving the full service.

With over 90% of households receiving x2, the council expects recycling to increase to around 64% - a level the Welsh Government doesn’t expect councils to reach until 2020.

After this huge expansion of the x2 service, around 5,000 households will still rely on sack services because of access problems that cannot be overcome.

However, where sacks still have to be used collections are being changed so that residents can enjoy all the facilities of the x2 service.

Residents will receive separate, weekly food waste collections using secure orange bins. This separate collection of food waste will go a long way towards eliminating the biggest problem with sack collections - the fact that birds and other animals see refuse sacks as a source of food.

Also, householders will be offered garden waste collections for the first time. This is possible because the reductions in the amount of refuse achieved through high levels of recycling, coupled with the new food waste collection, mean that is no longer necessary to collect pink sack refuse on a weekly basis.

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, said: “Throughout October and November, residents will be provided with their new bins, where appropriate, and their new recycling and refuse collection schedules directly.

“When Denbighshire initially switched to wheelie bins, housholders only had two bins, now, with the advances made in recycling technology, we are providing over 11,000 households with three different bins and a food waste collection service.

"It has been a huge logistical excercise and months of planning to get to this stage.The sheer size and scale of this roll out means there may be a few teething problems but we would like to thank residents in advance for their patience over the next two months.”*

A briefing on the x2 roll out can be arranged on request by the council.