Residents complain of bins uncollected for weeks

Councillor Hannah Perkin said residents were starting to become "distressed" by the lack of collections

Bin collections have regularly been missed in several places in Kent, with some residents going four weeks without them being emptied.

A number of refuse collections in Swale, Maidstone and Ashford have been missed due to a change in contractor, say councils.

John Finnis, who lives in Faversham, said it had been "an absolute disaster and totally chaotic".

Vincent Masseri, general manager at new contractor Suez, said the service is "steadily improving each week" and thanked residents "for bearing with us while these improvements continue to bed in".

Mr Finnis told BBC South East: "I called the council multiple times and they kept saying the bins would be collected in the next two days but that never happened.

"Eventually, I heard a bin lorry come down my road, so I ran out in my dressing gown and spoke to the workers.

"They said that my bins weren't on their route but kindly agreed to empty them."

Councils have said missed collections are due to a change in contractor

Swale Borough Councillor Hannah Perkin said: "Some collections haven't taken place since the change of contractor five weeks ago.

"There is no sign of any improvement and it is causing older residents distress."

She said an emergency council meeting is due to take place to consider the next steps.

"I don't think we should be paying Suez for work that has not been done - residents need to be compensated too," she said.

She said the Suez contract was for eight years and they were hoping to see improvements once they had "bedded in".

Barbara Simmons, from Charing, near Ashford, said: "We often go weeks without a collection. It is simply not good enough."

Working to resolve issues

A Swale Borough Council spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience of the "shortfalls of the new service" and said "elements had not gone according to plan".

Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) said it anticipated "teething issues" and is now seeing a "visible improvement".

An Ashford Borough Council spokesman said the "vast majority" of its 130,000 scheduled collections take place on time.

All three councils said they are working with Suez to resolve the issues.

Mr Masseri, from Suez, said: “We are currently implementing a number of changes to the contract to deliver a better and more efficient service in the long run.

"The service is steadily improving each week and we thank residents for bearing with us while these improvements continue to bed in.”