New recycling scheme has 'deep systemic failures' says county councillor

Llangollen county councillor Karen Edwards has issued the following statement about the troubled introduction of Denbighshire's new waste recycling system:

"I have been closely monitoring the unfolding issues related to the collection of waste after the introduction of the new rollout service across the county on June 3.

"Last Thursday, June 13 I attended an online Emergency Teams meeting with DCC officers along with many other County Councillors where the issues related to the rollout of the service were discussed.

"It is abundantly clear that this scheme has not gone as planned and what has been described as 'teething issues' are being created by deeper systemic failures which include but are not limited to a lack of adequate capacity for the segregated waste streams in the new collection vehicles as well as the significantly extended time spent by operatives having to manually handle and empty the new trolibocs containers and sacks into the vehicles.

"As a result collections are being stopped earlier than planned as vehicles reach capacity in one compartment and further collections for that day are often not completed due to time constraints and vehicles having to return to base. Attempts to clear the backlogs have not been successful either. This has been compounded by two of the vehicles resourced for the service breaking down in the first week and thus not being available for service. Additional collections are being planned and more resources are being sought to help alleviate the issues.

"I made my unhappiness, frustration and disappointment perfectly clear to the CEO and his officers at the meeting and expressed my concern that collectively they were not taking the systemic issues seriously and focussing simply on quick fix sticking plaster solutions to ease the current situation rather than seeking to identify the root causes that have resulted in the roll out of the service failing to deliver effectively for many residents, not only in Llangollen but the entire County, compounded by communication and reporting issues.

"DCC has indicated that they expect it will take around 12 weeks for the new system to be running smoothly, which is disappointing considering that despite several years of planning there are far more issues than the officers expected, notwithstanding the fact that the Lead Member has been on the project board for just over two years.

"County Councillors have now been assigned a direct link to a designated officer for each area in order to communicate local area issues with regard to failed collections. Whether this particular course of action actually results in clearing the backlog of waste remains to be seen.

"If you are still experiencing issues this next week after the designated collection days which are Tuesday and Wednesday, please contact me either via Ffon/telephone 07795652188 or Ebost/email karen.edwards@denbighshire.gov.uk"

Bids totalling over £2,000 made in fun auction in aid of Eisteddfod

* Auction assistant Mabli Lebbon with the guitar signed by the Manic Preachers which went for £350.

More than £2,000 was raised from lots that went under the hammer at an auction in aid of Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in the Town Hall last night (Friday).

All 30 or so item which went up for sale were donated by well-wishers and bargain-hungry bidders paid £350 for a classic Danelectro guitar signed by the Manic Street Preachers who will star in an evening concert hosted by the Eisteddfod on June 28, £150 for a framed football shirt signed by Leeds and Wales international players and the same amount for a family portrait session put up by Neil Barrett Photography.

The hammer went down at £140 on a pair of tickets to see Tom Jones make his Llangollen debut on July 2 and at £120 for a four ball voucher including meals at the Vale of Llangollen Golf Club.

Other lots which stirred plenty of interest included packages of wine, spirits and beer, afternoon tea treats and a bread-making course in the winning bidder’s home offered by a local expert.   

* The masked singer was one of the auction lots.

There was also some intense bidding on a dinner, bed and bed breakfast stay for two people at a choice of hotels run by the group which owns the Wild Pheasant in town, That was eventually snapped up for £170.

Most novel lot of the evening came up when a masked singer clad in Sion Corn outfit gave an example of his vocal abilities to promote bidding on his offer to perform a 45-minute routine at the winner’s choice of venue – and bring along a bottle of champagne to get the party started. That went for a bargain £75.

Between the two halves of the auction, over which the gavel was wielded by Ian Lebbon chair of the Eisteddfod’s marketing committee, there was first class entertainment from a Wrexham-based ladies’ choir of Welsh learners, Côr DAW, who performed medleys of songs by the likes of Elton John, Abba, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Jersey Boys in both Welsh and English.

* Ian Lebbon wields the gavel.

Ian Lebbon said: “It was a fantastic night in which a total of over £2,000 was raised for the Eisteddfod from the many lots which went under the hammer,

“It would not have been possible but for the marvellous support we received from the people who donated items to be auctioned off and the volunteers and friends from the Eisteddfod who helped put the whole thing together.  

“I’d also like to say a big thank you to everyone who came along to join the very lively audience, which included guests from Australia and Ukraine.”

* Côr DAW perform one of their medleys.

* The football shirts on display before bidding commenced.

Council responds to candidate's claims about new recycling scheme

* One of the new Trolibocs.

Denbighshire County Council has responded to specific claims by a general election candidate about the new waste recycling system which he says has been “an unmitigated disaster” since being introduced on June 3. 

Paul Penlington, who is fighting Clwyd East for Plaid Cymru, says that refuse across the county hasn’t been collected for a week, refuse workers are quitting due to the risks to their backs, the majority of new bin crews are now agency workers many of whom have already left due to the workload and that a local construction firm’s drivers are being asked to help drive bin wagons. 

But the council refutes these claims.  

Mr Penlington said: “I objected to the implementation of this Trolibocs system from the outset. Primarily due to the huge cost and the fact there was nothing wrong with the existing system.

“The reality has proven to be even worse than I'd thought. Refuse across the county hasn't been collected for well over a week now, my own included, many bins have already been damaged by the weather and refuse workers are quitting due to the risk to their backs from the increased workload and constant lifting to head height. 

“This unwanted imposition from Welsh Labour  has already proven to be a costly failure, workers are at risk, our streets are an increasing mess and we are now looking at a 12% rise in council tax next year to pay for it. 

“DCC have now contracted the collection of the old wheelie bins to a firm from Great Yarmouth, so there’s no commitment to local businesses and the claimed savings seem to be highly inaccurate to say the least.

“The councillors who pushed this through, in the midst of a cost of living crisis, despite public opposition should resign now in disgrace. 

“The majority of the new bin crews are now costly agency workers, and a lot of them have already left due to the unrealistic workload. I have been informed the council are now so desperate they are asking a local construction firm’s drivers to help drive the bin wagons on a 10 am to 6pm shift.

“The pick-up timing previously was around 20 seconds from the pull-up to the bin, empty and move on, under this new system it's around two minutes. This six-fold increase in collection times wasn’t factored in and the electric wagons’ charge runs out before runs are complete. 

“The loading hatches on the wagons require head height lifting for the crew but are too low to cope with the volume the wagon is expected to take. The rubbish going in builds up quickly into a mountain-type heap; the rubbish then cascades down and falls out further increasing the workload and reducing the time they can stay out. 

“People dumping excess refuse into public bins is up by 60% with an increased need for more agency staff to deal with it.

“This system is a hugely expensive, unmitigated disaster and Labour-led DCC are now desperately trying to disguise that fact from the public. Incompetence is an inadequate word to describe this complete failure and irresponsible waste of public money.  

“Yet the Labour led Cabinet insist on ploughing ahead to avoid embarrassing their colleagues in the General Election.”

A council spokesperson responded: “We have had zero staff resign because of this system or since it has been implemented or any musculo-skeletal problems caused by the work.

 

“The collection contract for the old bins was secured via the contract award to IPL for the provision of the Troliboxes – this was a subcontract arrangement that offered significant cost reduction to the council.

 

“We do have a percentage of agency staff, as we always have within the waste collection team, but the vast majority of the team are direct employees. Requests to local firms for assistance have not been made.

 

“Electric vehicles are not currently in deployment by the service and we have no indication of rubbish cascading out of the vehicle due to the manual handling processes involved.

 

“The 60 percent increase in public bin waste is not a figure the council has calculated or released.”

* Meanwhile, in its latest general statement on the recycling situation the council says: Denbighshire County Council would like to sincerely apologise to residents for the impact on them of missed collections as we roll-out the new waste and recycling collection service. 

"We would also like to thank residents for the efforts made by them to ensure that their recycling is sorted correctly and placed in the appropriate containers. These efforts have greatly improved the quality of the recycling materials collected and this is really appreciated.

"While the majority of recycling and residual waste collections have been completed as planned across the county, we accept that a large number of residents have not had a collection and that this has caused difficulties for them.

"We have experienced a number of issues which is to be expected with a service change of this scale and to get to grips with these, the following temporary measures are being put in place: 

•   We have brought in additional vehicles and staff, so more crews are out each day

•   Extra shifts are being put in place so crews can stay out longer

•   We will have crews out on Saturdays focussing on key areas which have been missed

•   Staff from other services of the council are being redeployed to help with tasks to support the front-line collection crews.

"We are closely monitoring the situation and doing what we can with the resources available. We appreciate your patience, but also recognise your frustrations and apologise for the impact this has had on you. We expect that the difficulties will ease as the temporary measures set out above take effect and the new service is embedded. 

"Information about all aspects of the service is available on the website, including how to report a missed collection, and regular updates are posted on Denbighshire’s social media accounts."

Latest column from Denbighshire Citizens Advice

Latest column from Denbighshire Citizens Advice is:

Q: My children are starting new schools in September, one is in primary school and the other secondary. Between uniforms, PE kit and knowing they’ll need to catch the bus each day the costs are adding up. I’m already pretty stretched, so I’m not sure how to cover these extra outgoings. Is there any help I can get?

A: A new school year can put pressure on lots of people’s budgets, so you’re not alone in your worries. But there is help available.

A good place to start is the Citizens Advice website where you’ll find lots of information on the support you might be entitled to for school-related costs.

The help you can get to cover school lunches will vary depending on how old your children are and if you claim benefits. Children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 automatically get free school meals. You can apply for free school meals for older children if you claim certain types of benefits, including Universal Credit, Child Tax Credit and Income Support. The full list is available on the Citizens Advice website.

You mentioned concerns about travel costs. If your child can't walk to school because of special educational needs or disabilities they should get free school transport. You may be able to get help with transport costs from your Local Education Authority if your children can’t walk because it's dangerous or too far. Your Local Education Authority is part of your local council that deals with education in your area, you can find yours on GOV.UK. Contact it directly to find out exactly what support it offers.

If you’re on a low income, your Local Education Authority may also be able to help you with activity and school uniform costs. You’re likely to be considered to be on a low income if you get means-tested benefits like Universal Credit or Housing Benefit. In some places there are also local charitable schemes that can help. A good place to find out about these is the school itself or Parent Teacher Association (PTA) both will usually know if these kinds of schemes exist.

A lot of people are feeling the squeeze at the moment, but it’s important to remember that help is available with starting school costs and you’re not alone. For more information visit the Citizens Advice website.

Eisteddfod's 2024 souvenir programme now on sale

                      

* This year's Eisteddfod programme.

The souvenir programme for the 2024 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is now on sale.

It will be available at the Llangollen Tourist Information Centre in Castle Street and  Llangollen Museum in Parade Street. 

The bumper 116-page, bilingual programme will be officially launched at the Eisteddfod’s final fundraising event before the festival - a special Auction and Entertainment evening tonight (Friday) at Llangollen Town Hall.

This year the programme will also cover the additional concerts outside of Core Eisteddfod Week, starting with the Bryan Adams on Tuesday June 18 and finishing with Madness on Saturday July 13. 

The full-colour publication mainly showcases the Core Week Eisteddfod, including details of the famous Parade of Nations, the Family Fun Day, details of the international competitions featuring over 3,000 competitors from over 30 different countries, and much more. 

It also has two pages for each major additional concert with exclusive content and artist-approved photos. This includes the Jess Glynne, Nile Rodgers + CHIC, Paloma Faith, and Simple Minds.

The programme has doubled in size this year to reflect what will be the biggest ever festival. 

This year's event will start on Tuesday June 18 when rock icon Bryan Adams comes to town. The concerts finish on July 13 with a huge show by Nutty Boys, Madness. 

              * Issy Richards and Bronwen Lebbon with this year's programme. 

The Core Eisteddfod Week will take place between July 2 and 7 and feature the local debut of Tom Jones, folk heroes Calan, royal harpist Alis Huws, Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalists Johns’ Boys Male Chorus, West End stars Kerry Ellis and John Owen-Jones, GRAMMY award-winning Gregory Porter and a Classical Gala Concert featuring Katherine Jenkins.

Bronwen Lebbon, Secretary of the Llangollen Eisteddfod’s Marketing Committee, worked with Pam Hughes and Issy Richards for months to produce the programme. 

She said: “Our Souvenir Programme is our biggest and brightest for years and matches the larger and extended festival, with concerts starting in just a few days’ time. It includes full details of all our competitions and our extra concerts from July 18 onwards. It is your essential guide and contains all you need to know about the 2024 festival.”

Priced at £5, the programme is available from the Llangollen Tourist Information Centre on Regent Street and the Llangollen Museum on Parade Street. It will be also be available at the Llangollen Eisteddfod shop on the field for all evening concerts and the Core Eisteddfod Week.

Parkrun celebrates first anniversary with special event

Llangollen's Old Railway Trail Parkrun celebrates its first anniversary tomorrow (Saturday) with a special event. 

A spokesperson said: "As usual it’s 9am from the Health Centre staff carpark and participants are invited to wear bright gear or fancy dress as they take part be it to walk, jog, run or volunteer. 

"We have a strong group of committed local volunteers who ensure the event takes place safely every Saturday and encourage people to enjoy our beautiful scenery."  

Former MP now candidate calls for pause to controversial recycling system

* Dr James Davies with one of the old wheelie recycling bins. 

A former MP and current candidate has temporarily cast aside the traditional election-time “purdah” to ask Denbighshire County Council to pause the rollout of its controversial new waste recycling system and make an urgent return to the old system before the situation “gets out of hand”.

Dr James Davies represented the former Vale of Clwyd seat until the election was called and is now standing as Welsh Conservative candidate for the new Clwyd East constituency which includes Llangollen.

Yesterday (Wednesday) he took to Facebook to launch his plea about the new recycling system which substitutes waste collection in tiered troliblocs for the old wheelie bins and has led to a chorus of complaints from angry residents about the way the change-over has been handled by the council.

Most of the complaints about the new system, which was introduced on June 3, centre on missed collections.

In his post Mr Davies says: “As we are in an election period, there are strict communication restrictions between election candidates and local public services such as the council.

“Therefore, despite the many many complaints I am receiving relating the rollout of the trolibocs system, I am unable to get the answers I usually would from the local authority.

“Nevertheless, I have contacted Graham Boase, Chief Executive, and suggested that the rollout needs to be paused and an urgent return to the co-mingled blue bin is necessary before the situation gets out of hand and fly tipping increases.

“I am aware that due to the level of understandable anger from residents across Denbighshire, the council will be holding an emergency meeting tomorrow with councillors to discuss the urgent action required. I hope that they consider my suggestion.

“I have strongly opposed this change since it was first considered. You can read more of my thoughts and about my campaign here: https://www.jamesdavies.org.uk/.../retaining-blue-bin... “