Waste management issues were on the agenda at a recent meeting of Tenby Town Council - with issues surrounding new bins, enforcement efforts, and future strategies discussed.

Councillors welcomed Nicky Young from Pembrokeshire County Council to address waste management challenges around the seaside town.

The town like many other popular Pembrokeshire destinations, has a hard time coping with litter and waste issues when holiday season comes around, not helped by the fact that the Local Authority in recent years has adpoted the stance of taking away public bins across the area, should they feel that they are being abused - with many pointing out that this policy only exacerbates the issue, and leads to the likelihood of more fly-tipping.

Mr Young said he was grateful for opportunity to attend and discuss such issues. He explained that his team had been reduced from 10 about 12 years ago to 4.5, covering Amroth to Angle. They were managing 111 bins across Tenby.

He said his team were under ‘major constraints’ but he wished to be proactive in the challenges they faced in tackling such matters in a busy coastal towns such as Tenby.

The team were collecting up to seven cages of waste daily, which is the equivalent of about 4 tonnes of street litter a day. Mr Young said that the recycling level was low.

Adressing concerns about the lack of public bins across Tenby, he said that new bins were arriving via a ‘Keep Wales Tidy’ grant, and that his team were awaiting arrival of liners.

Cllr James Phillips highlighted his concerns about a lack of bins inside the Five Arches, alongside the town walls, as there were many takeaway outlets in the vicinity.

Mr Young said that PCC had recently relocated three underused bins from the South Parade to Battery Gardens.

He remarked that food outlets in the town should also take some responsibility; with a suggestion to get businesses involved, possibly via sponsorship touted.

A ‘Trade Waste compliance’ drive was underway across all businesses in the county, to ensure that holiday lets had theirs collected and taken away.

In Tenby it was highlighted that holiday property waste was regularly dumped beside bins rather than through proper trade waste agreements.

Accommodation providers that are instructing visitors to use council street litter bins to dispose of their waste at the end of their stay have been widely criticised in recent times; and councillors heard that there was active enforcement across Pembrokeshire, with teams investigating waste bags, and fines starting at £75 - rising for repeat offenders.

PCC would be exploring employing dedicated town maintenance staff, similar to Pembroke Dock and Haverfordwest.

A multi-strategy approach was discussed; including - backfilling resource gaps, public education on littering, business responsibility, and distinguishing local versus tourist waste.

It was agreed to add the ongoing issue as a future agenda item to explore funding options including business sponsorship schemes and dedicated town maintenance position.

Councillors suggested meeting with Mr Young every 4/6 weeks for updates over the holiday season.