A POLICY for the collection of black bin bags at “difficult to access locations” across Neath Port Talbot has been adopted by the local council.
The move will mean that black bag waste at around 3,000 properties will need to be removed from storage containers with the bags placed at the kerbside on waste collection day.
It comes after a report to members which said the authority currently collects waste for 67,000 properties across the county with just over 3,000 of these being in “outlying or difficult to access locations where the large waste collection vehicles used for wheeled bin collections can’t be used”.
They added that in these locations the residual waste collections were carried out from smaller vehicles that were unable to lift the bins with crews having to manually take each bag themselves.
Along with time constraints on the routes officers said this could also lead to a number of health and safety issues for staff with workers often having to “bin-dive” to retrieve bags the bottom of the bin.
The report read: “The smaller vehicles do not have mechanical bin lifts and crews are unable to lift wheeled bins or oversized containers safely to empty them.
“Crews have to manually remove each bag from the bin. Aside from time constraints there are health and safety issues to consider.
Depending on the containers used they include having to ‘bin-dive’ to retrieve bags in the bottom of the bin.
“In addition the hazards of manually emptying wheeled bins, including the risk of laceration/needle stick injury, are compounded where residents compact bagged waste within bins.
“The operational position on small vehicle black bag waste collection rounds to date has been that no wheeled bins will be provided but residents are instead provided with black bags.
“Furthermore whilst bagged waste can be stored in any way or in any container chosen by a resident within the confines of their property containers should not be used for the presentation of waste for collection. The black bags need to be removed from storage containers and the bags must be placed at the kerbside on waste collection day.”
The policy which was said to have been used informally for a number of years in areas that were difficult to access was approved unanimously by members at a cabinet meeting on March 19, in order to “avoid confusion and ensure consistent service delivery”.
Residents with properties on small vehicle black bag collection rounds will now be written to with the move expected to take effect from April 1, 2025.
