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Campaigners for Llangollen to have a more convenient household waste facility have scored a major breakthrough with news that local people will be able to use the Plas Madoc tip from next month.
Ever since the town lost its own refuse site at Wenffrwd years ago and Wrexham banned Llangollen people from using Plas Madoc, they have been faced with a 32-mile round trip to the nearest Denbighshire tip in Ruthin.
The alternative has been to use the temporary ‘pop-up’ recycling facility set up for a few hours on the Pavilion car park on Saturday mornings but even this was halted during the Covid lockdowns.
Over a thousand people have signed a petition, organised by campaigner Phil Jones, demanding that Llangollen should have a more convenient recycling facility. And the question became a campaign issue at the last county council election.
Now word has come from Clwyd South Senedd Member Ken Skates that Denbighshire has negotiated a deal with Wrexham enabling Llangollen people to use Plas Madoc from October.
The breakthrough is revealed in a letter to Mr Skates from Simon Lammond, Denbighshire’s Waste and Recycling Manager, the contents of which have been shared with llanblogger by Mr Skates.
The relevant part says: “We have reached formal agreement with Wrexham CBC to enable Llangollen residents to access to the HWRC (Household Waste Recycling Centre) at Plas Madoc this will provide:
- Increased number of available booking slots 208 a month
initially as opposed to current 128 available for residents of Llangollen
(will be subject to constant review dependant on demand) .
- More flexibility providing booking slots every day, not
just between 9 and 11am on third and fourth Saturday of each month.
- Plas Madoc HWRC is a managed site ensuring the health
and safety of all its users as a controlled environment.
- Plas Madoc HWRC has the capacity to increase recycling
rates, through the process of checking and removing recyclable items that
have been placed in the residual waste stream.
- Initially residents will be able to take residual and
green waste and we are working with Wrexham to provide additional streams
once the relevant processes are in place.
- Residents who turn up with chargeable waste will be
turned away as the case at Denbighshire’s own sites
- As now residents with bulky items can either take them
to one of the DCC HWRC sites listed on our website or use the bulky
collection service provided by the council.
- The financial costs for the new service is in line with the exiting budget for the Llangollen pop-up service whilst providing an improved service and ensuring all material is treated and recorded in accordance with legislation.
“We have a further meeting with Wrexham to iron out some of the operational detail, but we anticipate a start date for this new service in early October 2023, once confirmed we will communicate with local Cllrs, community groups and via our web pages. During the transition period DCC will maintain the existing pop-up service for two months.”
Llangollen county councillor Karen Edwards, a strong supporter of a deal with Wrexham over Plas Madoc, said: “The establishment of a new agreement between DCC and WCBC to facilitate access to the Plas Madoc recycling facility for residents of the Dee Valley corrects a long-standing issue arising from the closure of the Council’s Wenffrwdd waste facility.
“This is a great example of collaborative working by our two councils, and it demonstrates the advantage of sound asset management sharing public assets to better serve our communities and drive forward our recycling objectives.
“I was elected on a manifesto committed to restoring this missing service, an
issue I have pursued for the past few years and I am delighted that it is now
reaching a conclusion.”
Phil Jones, on behalf of the tip petitioners, said: "When the council’s recycling site at Wenffrwdd closed without public consultation in 2007 no-one would have thought it would take 16 years to secure access to an alternative facility just over the County boundary at Plas Madoc. .
"Thanks to a petition of two thousand signatures and the tireless work of our County Councillor Karen Edwards this long standing injustice has been rectified."
Ken Skates MS said: “I have
raised the recycling issue numerous times with DCC on behalf of residents of
Llangollen and I am very pleased to hear of the successful conclusion of negotiations
between the two councils.”
