Due to rising costs of disposal, Merlin Waste, who manage Monmouth’s dog waste bins have had to raise their prices. The company have been faced with unforeseen challenges which involve misuse of the bins and subsequently causing a hazard for their staff.

In what was deemed a successful meeting with David Ivall of Merlin Waste, MTC with the help of Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) are planning to draw up a clear and straightforward contact which outlines the plan for the emptying of the town’s dog waste bins, which will initially last for five years, with the prospect of extending the deal for another 2.

MCC will be managing the contact and providing the equal monthly payments to Merlin Waste, if an agreement is reached. MCC in turn will invoice MTC for the work.

The full council meeting unanimously voted in favour of taking the proposal forward.

Cllr Sue White sincerely thanked Sue Parkinson, green infrastructure and litter education and awareness officer at MCC, for helping MTC with the contract and administration.

Mayor of Monmouth Cllr Terry Christopher agreed and added: “She has a great insight to problems on both sides. For me, it’s absolutely essential that we have a contract, if only to satisfy our internal audit. At least then we know what our monthly costs are going to be and each party will have to adhere to it.”

He added that as a result of meeting with Mr Ivall, it was discovered that the reason for the initial price rise from Merlin Waste was as a result of a change in how disposal costs further down the line are calculated.