Missed bin collections warning over more changes

A new stacked container recycling system, called Trolibocs, was introduced in Denbighshire in June

Householders have been warned to expect "missed collections and hiccups" when refuse workers start revised bin and recycling rounds next month.

It comes after some Denbighshire residents threatened to withhold their council tax, claiming household rubbish was not being collected following the rollout of a new Trolibocs system of stacked recycling containers in June.

But council bosses have pledged that the revised scheme "will settle in really quickly" after it's adopted from 4 November.

The authority's ruling cabinet agreed earlier this month to spend an additional £1.067m on the "botched" recycling scheme every year in a bid to fix the issues.

An additional £1.299m has been invested in eight new recycling vehicles, with more drivers and loaders drafted in.

Councillor Brian Jones told senior councillors and officials they risked more backlash from the public if waste collections continued to be missed.

During a meeting of the authority's communities scrutiny committee, he asked if they were confident the changes would work or whether they would "be firefighting again and trying to get back on track".

Director Tony Ward said: "Changing anything comes with a risk, doesn't it?

"From a resident's perspective, we hope that nobody will see any difference at all, apart from the people who have, unfortunately, still had an inconsistent service."

He admitted: "We fully expect that there will be some level of hiccups or some missed collections when we introduce new hours.

"We're confident that they will settle in really quickly, those new rounds, and I've said, within a matter of weeks, we expect to be in what we would consider a normal situation."