The Southend rubbish collection fiasco has led to the council being accused of “terrible planning” for overhauling its pick-up timetable before its new waste depot was finished.
Hundreds of residents from across the borough have complained of rubbish festering in the streets and falling prey to pests following missed collections in what has now been dubbed the Southend rubbish collection fiasco.
It comes after the council’s new waste contractor Veolia introduced a new system, featuring a four-day week and new blue bins for paper and card.
The staggered introduction has now seen about half of the borough’s residents brought into the scheme since it began a month ago.
Veolia has had extra crews working weekends in an attempt to catch up with delays, which the company attributes to the bank holiday Monday and flooding in Southend.
But Independent St Luke’s councillor Brian Aylen said it was comical this was done before the new waste depot in Eastern Avenue, Southend, had even been completed – meaning rubbish trucks are frequently held up in queues at Rochford.
He said: “It’s silly to bring in a system whereby half, or at least a large part, of your facility is still being built – it’s another case of planning gone wrong and it’s typical of the way the council has operated.
“I’m a planning engineer by trade and I used to plan things 25 years in advance, but today they seem to shortcut the necessary procedures.
“This terrible planning has been going on for too long and, as chairman of the policy and resources committee, it’s something I want to bring up at meetings.”
A council spokesman said the development and opening of a new waste transfer site in Eastern Avenue at the beginning of July was all part of the new contract with Veolia.
Hes aid: “Once opened it will reduce the time it takes for collection vehicles to drop off waste and return to their rounds, both through the reduced distance they will need to travel and the reduction of queuing at the current facility in Rochford.”
Regional director Keith McGurk said they were aware that planned waste collections have been missed for a number of residents.
He said: “We are very sorry for the operational delays that have caused this and are working hard to resolve the issues.
“Residents should continue to present their recycling and waste at the edge of their property.
“We have allocated extra resources and will collect it as soon as possible.
“If you have not yet received your new blue paper and card box, continue to present your recycling and waste as before. When you receive your new box you will find enclosed a leaflet which states your collection day. Please put your recycling and waste out on that day with immediate effect.”
For more information, visit southend.gov.uk/recycling
If you’d like a free quote on your waste collections, please fill in the quote form below this post.
Nizinskyj, P. (2001) The Southend rubbish collection fiasco…Goes on. Available at: http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/14548192.The_Southend_rubbish_collection_fiasco___goes_on/ (Accessed: 10 June 2016).
