Missed garden waste collections prompt rethink

The service is being reorganised before the spring said Gedling Borough Council

Residents left "infuriated" by missed garden waste bin collections will see improvements to the service, Gedling Borough Council has said.

Garden waste collections cost residents £45 a year plus an extra £23 per additional bin.

But missed collections - which led to 467 unemptied bins in July - have led to a number of complaints.

The council's director of operations Sarah Troman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service garden waste collections in the borough would be reorganised over the quieter autumn and winter months.

She said there had been "a lot of consistently missed bins".

"We know it is not sustainable to deliver it with the crews that we have got, with the customer base we have got, so, as soon as we start to slow down – which should be in the next six weeks or so – we are going to look at completely revamping those rounds," she said.

Troman added team vacancies, vehicle breakdowns and staff sickness and leave had contributed to problems over the summer.

'Pay extra'

Environment services lead councillor Marje Paling said the situation was improving, with missed collections down to 135 in September.

She said a tracking system has been installed in the council's fleet of bin lorries while new bin lorries are being introduced "over the next few weeks" to reduce breakdowns.

Six new drivers and six new loaders are also being interviewed to reduce a reliance on agency staff who are unfamiliar with rounds.

Trent Valley ward councillor Sam Smith said the issues were causing more complaints than any other issue since he was elected seven years ago.

Smith said: "Residents are really infuriated by it because they pay extra for that service. It lets this council down."