Second time lucky for Aberystwyth seagull-proof bag trial?

A seaside town blighted by strewn rubbish on bin collection day may have finally found a solution.

Ceredigion council trialled seagull-proof bags on streets in Aberystwyth in November, but it did not solve the problem, a councillor has said.

But Ceredig Davies explained a fresh trial launched last week had made a "remarkable difference" already.

Rather than giving each household a bag, under the new system the council will put out and collect communal bags.

Business owners had previously criticised Ceredigion council for being too slow to address the issue.

The previous trial, which ran alongside a communal bin pilot, failed because some residents did not bring the bags back into their homes after collection, Mr Davies said.

Under the new trial, the council placed communal heavy duty sacks in seven town centre streets the afternoon before black bag collection day on Tuesday 6 August.

Mr Davies, county councillor for the town centre, said the new method was better because the council was responsible for taking the bags away, and it also reminded people when their waste would be collected.

"It was a remarkable difference. It wasn't 100% but you wouldn't expect that on the first week," he added.

The council has called on residents to help combat the "long-standing" waste issues in the town by using the bags properly.

"We hope the residents of the town centre will play their part by making good use of the sacks as this will be the critical factor in measuring the success of the scheme," said Dafydd Edwards, councillor with responsibility for waste.

The authority said it would monitor the success of the trial on an "ongoing basis".