Can you tell me the number of missed collections on recycled bin collections in Llandrindod's four wards and how this compares to the number of missed collections on recycled bin collections in Llansantffraid & Llanrhaeadr Wards and the reason for any discrepancy?
I am making these inquiries as I think it poses a health risk to elderly people who put their bins out every Tuesday in my area and then have to bring them back in again as they not coming for that week
I would also like to take this opportunity as well as point out that Shropshire (and many others) put it on their home page of any changes, and I am sure that this can be done as soon as there is a problem being either the evening before or at 7 am in the morning on Powys Council website.
Minutes:
What are the missed collections on recycled bin collections in Llandrindod's four wards? What are the missed collections on recycled bin collections in Llansantffraid & Llanrhaeadr Wards? Why is there such a discrepancy?
I am making these inquiries as I think it poses a health risk to elderly people who put their bins out every Tuesday in my area and then have to bring them back in again as they not coming for that week.
I would also like to take this opportunity as well as point out that Shropshire (and many others) put it on their home page of any changes, and I am sure that this can be done as soon as there is a problem being either the evening before or at 7 am in the morning on Powys Council website.
Response
It is not possible to give an exact answer to the first part of this question as rounds do not correspond to electoral wards. However, the following data is available:
In 2023 to date there have been 12 missed rounds that contain properties within the four wards of Llandrindod, 4 of which were down to inclement weather. This compares to 18 missed rounds that contain properties within the Llansantffraid and Llanrhaedr wards (5 of which were down to inclement weather) during the same period.
However, to put this into a bit more context, there are 2364 individual properties that would have been affected in the Llandrindod wards compared to 1352 in Llansantffraid and Llanrhaedr. In statistical terms, this equates to 1.8 times per property in Llandrindod and 1.7 in Llansantffraid and Llanrhaedr.
The reason for the discrepancy is that these wards are serviced from different depots in the mid and north of Powys. The problems with recruitment of staff have been more acute in the north of the county and this is a problem that has been experienced by other local authorities in North Wales as well as the private sector.
We do appreciate that it is an inconvenience for residents to wait an additional week for their recycling collections, but if the materials are cleaned and the food stored securely, there shouldn’t be a health issue. We do try to ensure that residual waste rounds are not missed due to the three weekly cycle of collections and do catch up as quickly as possible if this does occur.
With regards to informing residents of missed collections, it is generally not possible to do this the evening before as we would not be aware of short term staff sickness and vehicle breakdowns until the day in question. As soon as we are aware that a round is going to be missed, a message is sent to all the affected Councillors, the helpdesk is informed, and our missed bin reporting form and collection day finder are updated on the website so that if someone puts in their address they will be informed of the change. Whilst individual missed rounds are not put on social media, there are regular messages asking people to check online if their collection is missed.
The service is working very hard to minimise these disruptions and there has been some success with recruiting additional staff. It is, however, an ongoing issue, but hopefully the collections should now be stabilising.
Council was advised that Mr Ellison was unable to be present, but the Cabinet Member indicated that she would be happy to respond to a supplementary question if submitted.
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