Tag: Bin Strike

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Update to communal collections – is the council in denial?

Communal waste bin in a basement with a large pile of rubbish bags next to it on the ground.

On 8th August I wrote to the Director of City Operations and Cabinet Member concerning the appalling inconsistency of waste collections to flats and HMO’s with communal container bins.
Today I have received a response as follows:

Dear Councillor Knowles

Thank you for your email. Please see response below provided by Head of Service for Waste.

Thank you for your enquiry regarding the collection from communal properties.

As you note in your email the City Council has made a commitment to ensure all residents, regardless of property type, receives a minimum of one collection a week. Whilst this has been challenging to deliver we are pleased to report that circa 97.2% of all flats are receiving a weekly collection. However it should be noted that a lot of communal properties in the City are scheduled to usually receive more than one collection, and whilst we are taking excess in the short-term, this does not fix the problem long-term. With this in mind we are currently reviewing the operational resource we have available to us and trying to identify if there is a means whereby we can provide a more consistent, scheduled collection.

Once we have developed a solution we will share it with Elected Members through the Cabinet Member briefing process.

I hope to meet with the Director at a briefing next week, but in the meantime I have written back the following. It seems to me they are in total denial about what is happening on the ground:


Dear Cllr Mahmood and Richard

Thank you very much for the reply.

I am pleased to hear you are trying to find a way to provide a more consistent, scheduled collection for flats and HMO’s. I hope it will be treated as a priority.

I would really like to see the evidence that 97.2% of all flats are receiving a weekly collection and how that figure has been reached. 

I’m afraid it just does not add up in the experience of residents with communal containers in my ward and I expect other wards across the city. 

I have multiple properties that are being left 3 to 6 weeks between collections and that I am flagging up regularly on behalf of residents.

I also dispute that crews are routinely taking excess waste.  Some crews are doing this but more often the  containers are emptied and the excess piles of waste are left behind.  I attach a photo of one block of flats where this happened only today. It means residents are having to re-fill the bins with the excess, meaning they need another collection much sooner, or more often their management companies pay for the bins to be filled and the stores cleared, which is a charge to the residents.

Most of these properties would manage with one collection a week but that is simply not happening.

Best wishes

Izzy

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Household Waste and Recycling during Industrial Action.

Yesterday in the Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Committee I asked the cabinet member, Cllr Majid Mahmood if the booking system for the household recycling centres could be suspended during strike action as it is so difficult for residents to secure a slot. He replied that the system cannot be suspended due to the contract with Veolia and changing that would come at a high financial cost to the council.

Today I have emailed him to ask if this could be discussed further with Veolia following the declaration of a major incident. They may be willing to allow temporary changes to the contract without a financial implication for the council.

I also asked about the prioritising of missed collections and pointed out that whilst the agency crews cannot cover a whole round in the time given, they are not alternating their start location, so the same properties are missed week after week. He acknowledged this as an issue and said crews are now being instructed to ensure they alternate start locations.

I have explored several potential sites to bring a Mobile Household Waste Collection to Moseley. As they are attracting upwards of a 1000 visitors during the industrial action this would need to be a large area, such as a car park where there is room for people to unload cars quickly and safely. So far, private sites have all said no due to health and safety concerns.

I am also exploring the possibility of a supervised paper and cardboard collection at a set location in Moseley.

I continue to send almost daily lists of missed collections in Moseley to the depot supervisor and they are prioritising them as and when they can get crews and wagons out. Different wagons are required for containers and wheelie bins, so if you see a crew they may not necessarily be able to empty your particular bin. If I have reported your property or road, please let me know when it is collected.

The council has updated their FAQ on the website since declaring a major incident, which includes a factsheet about the reasons for the industrial action and their attempts to resolve it