by Katy Jenkins, Local Democracy Reporter

Better updates on disruption to bin collections are needed, Ceredigion’s county councillors have said, after routes in Cardigan and across south Ceredigion were hit by staffing issues in recent months.

A report on the waste management service was discussed at a thriving communities overview and scrutiny last Thursday, when councillors called for better communication over missed collections.

Information that had been requested by the committee related to efficiency benefits, fuel costs and wear and tear of waste vehicles since the new kerbside collection service came into force in 2019.

Corporate manager of environmental services Gerwyn Jones said that Covid-19 had changed how crews worked, with an increase in workload, overtime, costs and issues.

He added that there was perhaps a need to “reduce people’s expectations.”

Cllr Elizabeth Evans said that disruptions should be published earlier, adding that the service should be collating data relating to published service disruptions.

Cllr Rhodri Davies added: “I fully understand that it’s difficult for officers and the staff, but we need to continue to contact residents to inform them of the situation.”

In the next three to six months, the plan is for the service to reinstate the bulky household and garden waste services, review kerbside collection service needs, including labour and fleet, and procure waste transfer site capacity in south Ceredigion.

Medium and long-term plans are also included in the report to committee, such as reviewing household waste site usage, review the business case for Penrhos waste transfer site, reviewing kerbside collection options and implementing the new waste management strategy for south Ceredigion.