4 weekly refuse collections - frequently asked questions

Yes, if you use your weekly food and recycling services, fortnightly garden waste, textiles and electrical collections and a nappy or incontinence product collection if you need it. It’s easy to recycle more, all households can request extra recycling containers and liners.

Households of 6 or more people can request a second black wheelie bin as long as you are recycling all you can. If there are fewer than 6 people in your household but you are struggling for bin space, please fill in our online form.

All households can request extra recycling containers.

We will ask about your circumstances and check you qualify when you apply for extra bin space.

Food waste, nappies and incontinence products may cause smells in your wheelie bin. Avoid this by using your weekly food recycling service for food waste and if you have nappies or incontinence products, ask us for a free weekly collection. Your food waste container is lockable, which will keep pests out and we provide free liners. Bag items like animal waste before you put it into your wheelie bin, to help minimise unpleasant smells.

If you are going to be away and cannot get a neighbour or friend to put your bin out, please try to contact us in advance so that we arrange to have your bin collected. In exceptional cases (such as family emergencies) where you have not been able to contact us in advance, please get in touch with our Customer Service Team on 01492 575337 and we will do our best to help.

We provide a FREE weekly collection for disposable nappies or incontinence products if the amounts produced will mean you run out of space in your refuse bin. We provide liners and a lockable caddy. If you would like to arrange this service, please contact us via erf@conwy.gov.uk or calling 01492 575337.

If you recycle all you can your wheelie bin should not be too heavy as it will only contain light, non-recyclable materials such as plastic film. If you are physically unable to move your bin and have nobody to help you, please contact us to arrange an assisted collection via erf@conwy.gov.uk or calling 01492 575337.

The 4 weekly trial found that an increase in fly tipping just did not happen. By using the weekly food and recycling collections along with the fortnightly garden, textile and electrical collections, there is enough room in the bin for your refuse. The typical fly-tipped waste (bulky items such as mattresses, tyres, white goods, chairs & sofas) are most often items that wouldn’t fit in a wheelie bin. Bulky waste can be taken to the recycling centres - to find out their locations and opening times go to www.conwy.gov.uk/recycling .

In a report published by Keep Wales Tidy earlier this year, Conwy’s ‘Cleanliness Indicator’ is markedly higher than the Wales average and is the highest figure recorded for Conwy since 2008/2009.

You actually get 13 collections a month – 17 if you signed up to the nappy or incontinence product collection service.

Frequency of collection	Type of collection	Number of collections every 4 weeks
Weekly	Food waste Recycling – paper & card, plastic, can and cartons, glass and card	4 x food waste collections (1 per week) 4 x recycling collections (1 per week)
Fortnightly	Textiles Electricals	2 x textiles (1 per fortnight) 2 x electrical (1 per fortnight)
4 weekly	Refuse	1 every 4 weeks
Total:	-	13 collections every 4 weeks

Where it’s possible, use the dog bins provided in public places for dog waste. If using your rubbish bin, tightly wrap the dog waste in plastic bag to help reduce smells.

Cat waste from litter trays needs to go in the refuse bin but you can double bag it to reduce any potential odours.

You can add waste from herbivores such as rabbits to a home compost heap.

We did a year-long trial of 4 weekly collections for 10,000 households. It showed that residents are now recycling 14% more and reduced the amount of rubbish in the wheelie bin by 31%. These items are now being recycled into something new and the food waste is being used to make electricity.

• Check online: www.conwy.gov.uk/recycle
• Use the Conwy App: www.conwy.gov.uk/conwyapp
• Email: erf@conwy.gov.uk or call 01492 575337