South Gloucestershire Council fines waste firm for "appalling" service
The company missed thousands of homes, leaving rubbish and nappies to pile up outside
The waste company in charge of South Gloucestershire bin collections is being fined by the council for its ‘appalling’ service.
The local authority recently signed a new deal with Suez to continue kerbside rounds, which the firm has done for the last 25 years in a private finance initiative (PFI) contract that has now expired.
But a controversial move by the council’s Lib Dem/Labour administration to three-weekly black bin days, coupled with three recent heatwaves and new collection routes, have led to confusion and thousands of missed homes, with rubbish and nappies piling up outside.
Now, South Gloucestershire Council leaders have had enough and are fining Suez for breach of contract.
Opposition Conservatives say the authority has introduced a ‘failing policy that cannot cope’.
Suez has apologised and says the new services coincided with the extreme hot weather which affected crews’ working hours and pace, along with a shortage of drivers and older bin lorries breaking down.
The council’s ruling coalition says there have been ‘significant issues’ with waste and recycling collections under the new deal with the waste operator, and that it is being inundated with complaints from residents.
It said that while many households had successfully transitioned to the new arrangements, too many residents had experienced a level of service that fell below the standard they reasonably expected and deserved.
Council leader Cllr Maggie Tyrrell (Lib Dem, Thornbury) and co-leader and Labour group leader Cllr Ian Boulton (Staple Hill & Mangotsfield) have written to Suez about the terrible level of service and are demanding improvements.
Cabinet member for planning, regeneration and infrastructure Cllr Chris Willmore (Lib Dem, Yate North) said: “The council took out a new waste contract with Suez in good faith but the level of service that we have received from the company has been appalling.
“Residents expect their bins to be collected on time and to be able to communicate with the company when there is an issue – for many people this has not happened.
“Councillors and residents alike all feel we have been let down.
“However the public are pleased with the improvements we have made in recycling and in particular the rollout of the soft plastics recycling across the district.
“We will continue to push Suez to get to the root of the problem to ensure everyone has their
recycling and black bin collected on time.”
Tory group leader Cllr Liz Brennan (Frenchay & Downend) said: “Residents have been left dealing with chaos.
“The Liberal Democrat–Labour coalition rushed through changes that they were not prepared to deliver.
“The result has been missed collections, confusion, and unacceptable disruption to an essential service.
“It is simply not good enough that families are left with hygiene waste and rotting rubbish piling up outside their homes, particularly in hot weather.
“This raises serious public health concerns that should never have been allowed to happen.
“Residents pay their council tax with the expectation of receiving basic services.
“When those services fail at this scale, the council must be held accountable.
“They are understandably frustrated by the ongoing crisis and asking for their council tax back.”
Suez UK municipal general manager Nick Browning said: “The introduction of new services has coincided with several periods of extremely high temperatures, which affects how long and how quickly our crews are able to work.
“This, coupled with a shortage of drivers and older trucks breaking down, has disrupted recycling collections in some areas in South Gloucestershire.
“I’d like to apologise to all those affected by the disruption and reassure residents that we are working hard with council officers to recover the missed collections – our crews are working overtime where practical and we have brought in trucks from other areas to provide support.
“We would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding while we rectify the issues.”
The council said it could not disclose how much the fine was because it had been classed as ‘commercially sensitive’.