Message from Councillor John Savage re bin collections (8/2/24)

I’m sure many people are aware, we have been experiencing disruption to our bin collections over the last couple of weeks. While the majority of bins are being collected, there are areas where this has not been the case and I understand the impact this is having and the inconvenience it is causing.

Previously, the waste crews operated a ‘task and finish’ system which meant they were able to leave work as soon as they had finished their collection round. The new system that has been agreed with the unions requires crews to work the full hours they are being paid for each day, and take the breaks they should be taking. This means teams are no longer incentivised to rush, which reduces the risks of injuries and accidents, and provides time for training and development.I know how frustrating it is for those who you whose bins have not been collected for a number of days. We are trying to fix the issues that some of our crews seem to be having with the new ways of working, and we will resolve this as quickly as we can. In the meantime we are hoping to mobilise staff from other departments to help clear side waste and help minimise the build-up of rubbish on the streets. I would like to give a heartfelt thank you to those who are working extremely hard to clear the backlog.

Obviously, this situation is not satisfactory for you or for me and I would like to apologise to everyone who is being affected by the disruption. If your bin has not been collected, please leave it out and we will pick it up as soon as we can. Please continue to report missed collections on our website. It is frustrating that we can’t provide a date for when this will be resolved, but fixing it is an absolute priority and we hope to get back to normal as soon as possible.