Senior council officials do the rounds with waste collection crews

Two senior council officials recently got to grips with waste recycling in Wrexham by joining one of the crews on their rounds.

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, and Darren Williams, Service Manger Environment, joined the local waste collection crews during their rounds last Monday in the Cefn Mawr area.

The pair had the chance to empty trolley boxes from a number of properties during the crews’ morning run, and got to see the work carried out by the teams up close.

They joined crews in taking boxes from the kerbside to the collection vehicles and sorting through recyclable waste.

Cllr Bithell said: “I was very pleased with the opportunity to go out with the collection crews – it’s very important that I get the chance to see their work and get an idea of what they have to deal with.

“The teams did a good job of what is, in fairness, very hard work, and I was pleased to get the chance to go out with them and see what they do first-hand.

“I would urge people to not mix their recyclable items in different boxes and to make sure they’re putting the right items into each container. This way it helps avoid missed collections and helps our recycling targets.

“While it can be an easy mistake to make, if they have to rectify it across a number of different households, sorting items which have been stored incorrectly can add large workloads to the rounds – and that’s something we want to avoid when we want to get to all households in good time and make sure everyone is covered.

“I would also encourage members of the public to recycle their unwanted food waste off in to the smaller grey boxes – it did appear not many people are using them, and it’s one of the easiest things to recycle.”

Cllr Bithell added: “We wouldn’t be where we are in terms of the recycling figures without the co-operation of the public and I’m very grateful for their support – and I’d also like to thank our crews for their hard work, which is also a vital part of us hitting our recycling targets.

“They do work hard, and I hope they understand what we are trying to achieve.”