Call for action as recycling shambles continues

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

A North Powys councillor has called for action from his fellow county councillor in charge of sorting the recycling shambles following another week of missed collections.

The service has become more unpredictable as the year has progressed and last month Cllr Richard Church was given the task of sorting it out.

But after another week of bins being left behind, Cllr Graham Breeze is demanding urgent action following March’s shambolic roll-out of Powys County Council’s new waste and recycling routes.

Cllr Breeze has formally tabled 10 questions to new Cllr Church who was given the waste and recycling briefs following a cabinet reshuffle by council leader Cllr Jake Berriman from under pressure Cllr Jackie Charlton.

Cllr Breeze a former cabinet member in a previous administration has asked: “Does the portfolio holder accept full political responsibility for the performance of the waste and recycling service under his remit?

“What specific actions does the portfolio holder intend to put in place immediately following the widespread recycling collection failures on Bank Holiday Monday, and why have disruptions continued across multiple communities throughout the subsequent week?

“What does the portfolio holder identify as the primary causes of these failures, and what direct interventions has he or will he personally initiated to ensure those issues are resolved and not repeated?”

Cllr Breeze continued: “In light of the recent statement that leadership and oversight of waste services had been strengthened, how is the portfolio holder exercising that oversight in practice, and what evidence can he provide that these new arrangements are delivering improvement?

“Will the portfolio holder commit to a visibly hands-on leadership approach to resolving these issues, and how will that differ from previous arrangements which have been criticised for a lack of accountability?

“How will the portfolio holder ensure that accountability is appropriately balanced between political leadership and operational delivery, and can he confirm he will not attribute systemic failures solely to officers?

“Does the Portfolio Holder recognise the reputational damage these repeated service failures are causing to PCC, and what steps is he taking to restore public confidence?

“What measurable improvements can residents expect to see over the next four to six weeks?

“What contingency measures are now in place to ensure that predictable pressure points, such as bank holidays, do not result in further service collapse?

“Will the portfolio holder commit to providing regular updates to councillors and the public on performance, recovery progress, and lessons learned?”

Upon taking over the portfolio Cllr Church took to social media to blast the “unjustified personal criticism” of Cllr Charlton by opposition councillors.

He stressed that: “Councillors set the budget and policies they do not run the day-to-day operation of services; we employ officers who are qualified and trained to deal with complex operational matters.”

A council spokeswoman said: “A response will be issued by June 12.”