No proof of baby’s age, no nappies collected!

Council’s new rule enrages parents

PARENTS are being forced to present their children’s birth certificates – or else their dirty nappies won’t be collected by binmen.

Local authority officials say most toddlers are potty trained by the age of three, so only families that can prove they have children under that age will qualify for its new fortnightly nappy collection.

Everyone else must wait three weeks for them to be removed with their general waste.

The new regime is part of changes to Anglesey’s bin services, which will see waste collections drop from fortnightly to every three weeks from next month.

The Lib Dem, Labour and Independent coalition that runs the North Wales council has claimed stiffer recycling targets and the threat of fines from the Labour-led Welsh government are behind the plans.

But the move was met with outrage from residents, who say the age limit fails to take into account older children or adults with disabilities.

Mother Melanie Davies said: ‘It’s ridiculous. My nearly three-year-old is potty training now, but we will still have bedtime nappies. What about children or adults who are incontinent? It’s a stupid idea.’

Ian Cheney, 47, whose daughter Olivia, five, has Down’s syndrome and is still in nappies, said the council told him there could be no exceptions to the rule.

Mr Cheney, who lives in Amlwch, said: ‘I automatically assumed that Livy would be eligible for the council service because of her disability.

‘She has some health issues related to her Down’s syndrome, including holes in her heart and some difficulty walking. At the moment, with fort- nightly collections, it’s a struggle but we usually make it.

‘But we have no hope of being able to cope for three weeks.’

Many locals also vented their anger online. Adam Jones wrote on Facebook: ‘Why should I have to prove how old my child is? They should offer the services we require regardless of the age of our children.

‘I tried getting a bigger bin to help us cope as the amount of things that end up in our bins at the moment is crazy. All I got told is that to get a bigger bin there need to be six people living in the house!’

Elizabeth Williams added: ‘Utter outrage. This absolutely incredible policy is a complete invasion of privacy and totally lacking in addressing those with special needs… All involved are very clearly not fit for office. Utterly disgusting with no respect.’

The council says it must boost recycling rates from 55 per cent to 70 per cent by 2025 or face a fine of up to £500,000 each year.

From next month all 33,000 households are being issued with a red, blue and orange box for recycling, which will be collected weekly, as will food waste in separate brown bins.

Garden waste will be collected fortnightly, but household waste, in black wheelie bins, will only be removed once every three weeks.

On top of that the nappy collection will take place every two weeks to those with families who fill in a form and provide their children’s birth certificates to prove they qualify.

Last night a spokesman for Anglesey Council said there was another collection service available for those with medical issues that could be requested through a GP.

She said: ‘Evidence collated by our waste management team suggests that most children are potty trained between the ages of two and three.

‘Requesting a copy of a child’s birth certificate will allow us to monitor the number of children benefiting from the service and their respective ages.’

‘Complete invasion of our privacy’