CONCERNS have been raised over waste collection failings in Gwynedd which have been impacted by high sickness rates and a reorganisation of the service.

Historically, the county has had the second most most expensive authority in Wales, in terms of expenditure per home.

But problems had recently seen bins and recycling not being taken on collection days and residents “left in the dark” over when their rubbish would be collected, particularly in Arfon.

Llanwnda Councillor Huw Rowlands raised residents’ frustrations at a recent full council meeting of Cyngor Gwynedd.

He  also sought assurances that improvements would be made.

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Lead on the issue, Councillor Dafydd Meurig, apologised saying the waste collection service had been “re-evaluated and re-designed.”

“High sickness rates and historical arrangements”  had been among the reasons causing the problems he said.

Cllr Rowlands told members, “I increasingly receive more and more complaints about the waste collection arrangements in Gwynedd.

“What plans are in place to improve the collections to address the current problems,  to ensure they are carried out on time, in line with statutory regulations?” he asked.

Cllr Meurig, Portfolio holder for the environment  said they were “working closely” with the workforce, supervisors and union “to transform” the collection service way of working.

“High sickness levels and historical arrangements meant the service “did not make the best use of productive working hours” previously,” he said.

“It’s likely residents did not see a major difference in collections since the service provided additional resources to overcome problems.

“Historically, this led to substantial expenditure, indeed Gwynedd was the second most expensive authority in Wales, in terms of expenditure per home.”

To address this, over the past few months, the council  had been “redesigning” the service.

“This is the main reason why collection failings have happened, particularly in the Arfon area,” Cllr Meurig said.

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Work to set “managerial foundations” had been completed, with heads and every member of staff being contacted to “confirm our expectations,” He said.

“The new arrangements seem to be bearing fruit, we expect  Gwynedd residents will see an improvement in their collections soon, hopefully.”

“Maybe the service won’t be perfect at first, but if the crews fail to collect on the right day, collections will be carried out the next day, hopefully.”

The council was now communicating with communities differently,  using social media and local members.

“I’m sure you will all have started receiving those messages saying there has been a miscollection, and it will be fully collected the next day,” he told members.

Other measures included two new jobs advertised recently to overcome “temporary” staffing issues.

The service was also looking at its fleet to make sure it had “the most suitable and reliable vehicles” and would invest in technology to assist team leaders to manage routes “more effectively.”

“We  apologise for problems caused to residents, with this redesigning but we are confident we can soon have a service we can be proud of for staff and residents,” he stated.

Cllr Rowlands, then asked if the councillor was “confident” the new arrangements and improvement steps were “proactive ad powerful enough” and would be “carried out sooner rather than later?”

The Arllechwedd representative said he agree with the sentiment, noting issues had “affected most of us including myself in my ward”

“Yes, I am confident those changes will bear fruit,” he said.

“It will take time for things to settle down, however I hope real difference will be seen as soon as possible.”