Conwy Council has decided to phase in four-weekly black bin collections across the county following a successful trial which saved the equivalent of 87 double decker buses from landfill.

A year-long trial of 10,900 properties throughout the county showed recycling increased by 14% and black bin waste reduced by 31% when black bins were only collected once a month. Recycling was collected once a week.

This saved 1,040 tonnes from landfill — the equivalent of 87 double decker buses.

‘Time is not on our side, neither locally nor globally,’ said council leader Gareth Jones.

‘Increasingly, environmental and sustainability needs are changing political and economic policies.

‘We are witnessing that – we have an opportunity to play our part in accelerating that change or stalling it.’

The decision to go ahead with the new collection timetable, which comes into force at the end of 2019, was taken despite a decision last December to stick with the trial for one more year.

The council will be introducing a number of measures to support those who have concerns about the new timetable such as a second bin for larger families and free bulky waste collections.

‘The message I want to present and I hope we can accept is that we accelerate our drive towards increasing recycling and reducing residual waste; that we educate ourselves in what that means and how we can help our residents achieve it,’ added Cllr Jones.