Recycle More 2nd Quarter Results

I received Conwy's first full quarter recycling figures today which included the new weekly collection service. I am very pleased to announce that residents in Conwy are now recycling 54% of their waste. I have to be cautious with this figure as this quarter is usually the busiest due to green garden waste.

This result is up 10% from last year and looks promising to hit the statutory target of 52% by 2012/13.

There is still more to do, we are working on introducing kerbside recycling in the rest of the County. Currently some rural areas do not receive this service and it is hoped that this can be resolved in late 2012. We estimate that there are around 5000 households not receiving this service and when they do it will give Conwy an extra 2% on top of our current figures.

The difficult challenge then is how to get to 70% recycling by 2025.

Well done to everyone who participates and of course our staff.

Conwy Food Festival

Popped over to Conwy yesterday and have to say it was probably the busiest I have ever seen the Town, in fact when talking to locals, this was one of their first comments.

There were also a few saying that the £7 entrance fee was a put off and they were not willing to pay it, one suggested a discount for locals. That said, the marquees were absolutely Jam Packed and in some instances too busy for my wife and I to go in.

Hopefully the weather will hold up for them today as I feel this will probably be one of the busiest feast's Conwy has seen. This event really shows Conwy off to its full potential. There were also lots of street entertainers which added to this event and lets not forget the food!!!

Believe it or not, with all the various stalls from all over Wales, I ended up going home with "Edwards of Conwy Sausages", well they are the best you know.

Well done to Jane Hughes and her team for organising this event!!

Still having problems with receiving comments.

Street Washing

We have been testing some equipment this week in order to tackle the chewing gum issue and as you can see the results are an improvement in the appearance of the pavements, this equipment does not use any chemicals, it uses heated water and there is also adjustable pressure.

Reality is that to take this forward I will need to work with different partners as this type of work is manually intensive. I have already had a business offer to pay for their frontage to be cleansed and I have asked to set up meetings with others. I will keep you posted.

On another note I am having problems receiving comments, hopefully this will be sorted soon.

Ward Work

Recently I asked the Community Payback Team for some assistance with a couple of "Grotspots" around my Ward and today spent a couple of hours with them addressing these issues.

Two areas of my Ward were cleared of overgrowth and Litter. Believe it or not, the photo above had a flattened Sofa in the scrub and about 8-10 bags of builders rubble.

The team also addressed some graffiti issues in some other locations around the Ward.

Feedback from residents is good and I have sent an email to the Area Manager in Probation Services thanking today's team. All in All a positive experience.