THE news that broke on Monday that Pembrokeshire County Council was going ahead with fortnightly collections of black bin bags certainly got a lot of reaction.

Here is a selection of the comments left on the Western Telegraph website and on the Western Telegraph Facebook page.

Steven, Laugharne: What a daft idea.

People don’t want their rubbish hanging around for two weeks. It will cause more fly tipping.

Ingrid Levison, Laugharne: In other areas I lived, you had a big plastic bin, so although collection were fortnightly, you had somewhere to put rubbish without animals pulling it out.

Collection days in Pembrokeshire already result in the flimsy black bags being spread all over the place before collection.

Now householders need to store it safely first. How and where? There will be impact on the environment of every household making more frequent trips to the tip vs one lorry collecting it all.

Has that been costed out in terms of emissions or is it purely the monetary saving?

Mellisa Tilly Lea: If the bags were full of non recyclable plastic and solid things then it wouldn’t be so bad, but what about nappies etc?

We can’t keep them indoors and can’t leave them outside because of animals. I could buy a dustbin but there £40, sorry that’s a lot for a bin.

But then what can we do but only complain? Somehow I don’t think that would work.

Joanne Gibbins: I think its not a bad idea, but council should provide wheelie bins for the black bags, especially as the seagulls have a field day on collection days already and make a right mess.

I think this will cause more mess and rodents and rats with wings unless proper bins are given to hold the rubbish for two weeks, and yes I recycle everything, but still average two black bags a week, being a family of six.

Ally Rosser: Well the pest control men will be very busy then!

Jacqui Watson: Does this mean that our rates will be reduced then? I think not.

Emma John Nevatte: All this to save money, what a joke.

Gail Rees: And where are we supposed to keep this festering mess?

Michelle Jones: We’re already doing this in Swansea. We recycle food waste, paper, glass, plastic and they are collected fortnightly – pink and black bags one week and green the next.

Food waste is collected weekly and we’re supplied caddy liners so messy waste is contained.

Black bags don’t tend to get ripped up, as all the tasty rotten goo is in the plastic lidded bins.

Michelle Jones: The council need to provide residents the caddys/ bags if they need to meet their environmental targets!

Malcolm Calver: The only service most people get for their community charge is being cut and we are told by Cllr Huw George that it will save £500,000 per annum. I presume councillors would have been informed where the savings would be made: redundancies, reduction in equipment etc?

I do not understand the suggestion that ending weekly black bin collections is going to divert more waste into recycling: surely everyone is already doing their utmost to recycle as much as possible?

I presume a report will be presented to cabinet next year informing members of the actual savings that have been made in the year?