Five complaints an hour on bins
NORTH Somerset's new waste collection service is receiving an average of 37 complaints and inquiries a day – the equivalent of nearly five an hour.
The new waste contract came into force in May as part of moves by North Somerset Council to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
The new contract has seen collections change, with non-recyclable waste being collected
every fortnight. Weekly food and recycling collections have also been introduced, along with a series of new wheelie bins and containers for people to dispose their rubbish in.
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But the new service – being run by contractor May Gurney – has been the subject of hundreds of complaints.
Between July 19 and September 17, the authority has received 1,670 calls from residents right across the district – the equivalent of 4.6 an hour from 9am to 5pm.
On August 6, the authority received 62 calls about its new rubbish service in one day.
Some people have complained that they have been given the wrong containers, while in other places rubbish collections have been missed completely.
Residents in Wraxall have had their collections missed twice in the past several weeks and in Portishead some roads have been missed altogether.
Some people have said the bins are not big enough, resulting in them making extra trips to the recycling centres to dispose of their rubbish.
The number of calls and complaints about the new service, was revealed as a result of a Freedom of Information request to the authority.
Contractors carry out waste and recycling collections from 90,000 properties across North Somerset each week.
The new regime – being hailed as North Somerset's recycling revolution – was introduced in two stages.
New collections started from July, with a second round getting under way in September.
North Somerset Council spokesman Nick Yates said: "We have said before that we would have liked the new system to have gone without a hitch.
"We apologise to people who have not had their recycling and waste collected on the due date."
The new arrangements provide residents with the facility to recycle a wider range of materials.
More information, can be found on the website www.n-somerset.gov.uk/revolution.
Comments
by philip, bristol
Tuesday, October 12 2010, 6:45AM
“i used to work for them as an agency worker i worked on the black box side of it and they where a bunch of idiots they smoked weed in the cabs of the trucks and smoked whils working they would chuck the boxes a good 3-4 houses away where i always put it back either outside the property or just inside the gate so if it was windy it did not blow across onto the rd and cause an accident. that was when ect was running it now sita has taken over the contrat it has improved slightly they use the same trucks but resprayed and most of the staff are the same but in the area i work as a parcel delivery i whitnesed one chap actualy put athe brown waste bin into the black box to weight it down so it would not slide about if the wind caught it!...”
by phi, bristol
Tuesday, October 12 2010, 6:37AM
“yes the worker do chuck the bins across the floor at distance espeacialy the black bins”
by Ron, Bristol
Monday, October 11 2010, 11:10AM
“What's this?
Evening Post exaggerating or bending the truth to cause a stir of sensationalism or an attempt to make something newsworthy?
Shocking!”
by Morrissey, Montpelier
Saturday, October 09 2010, 4:01PM
“Odd, I have had a bin replaced and didn't have to pay for it. Same goes for a recycling box that disappeared. I have also never seen a bin be irreparably damaged by rolling it from the edge of the pavement to the gate!
As for the 37 "complaints" a day, this does seem to include enquires. Any helpdesk getting such a small number of calls a day seems pretty good really, especially with teething problems which happen when changes are made. Not a news story.”
by Dave, Bristol
Saturday, October 09 2010, 3:03PM
“Can the workers that collect bins and box's please place them properly on the ground instead of chucking them from a distance and causing damage, the taxpayer then has to fork out for a new bin everytime they are beyond repair, i have seen this on numerous occassions.”
by Sarah, Nailsea
Saturday, October 09 2010, 1:54PM
“Whilst we are pleased with the amount of items they now collect in N Somerset, they certainly seem to be having teething problems. Our recycling wasn't collected at all last week, and when they eventually showed up they keep leaving some items of plastic in our bin that (according to all their guidelines they have sent around!) they are supposed to collect. Clearly the recycling company needs educating. However, I give up on trying to recycle some of these items (if I had the time, I might bother to complain about it) & this week I have gone back into the old 'just stick it in the black bin' approach! (Which isn't ideal & isn't what they should be encouraging due to their lack of knowledge!) Some of the stuff they don't collect they just chuck back into other peoples bins or on the street, which looks pretty scruffy. Not the end of the world & not really news worthy, but frustrating. Hopefully things improve!”
by It's Me, Walking my dog on Ashton Vale
Saturday, October 09 2010, 1:44PM
“It was revealed as a result of a freedom of Information request to the authority.
Is this how the B.E.P does it research now is it? There must be at least 2 or 3 story's a week now resulting from "freedom of Information request's" Gone are the good old days where reporters would actually go out side the office and do some actual reporting to get a scoop.
Maybe I could get a job as a reporter at the B.E.P, I'm more than good enough to pick up a phone and make a call.”
by Gerry, Bristol
Saturday, October 09 2010, 1:38PM
“Well, that's 4.6 complaints and enquiries every hour - not just complaints.
And so what, it's a new system - there's bound to be some teething problems.
What a waste of newsprint.”
by Equilibrium, Bristol
Saturday, October 09 2010, 12:50PM
“Five complaints an hour on bins
Complaints about the bin services?Dont talk rubbish!”
by RGW, USA
Saturday, October 09 2010, 12:18PM
“Sadly, this happens everywhere. Here, they used to have an annual street pickup in the summer. Meaning that people could clean thier garages etc, and get rid of excess junk (old matresses, broken household items etc) the old company ordered the cleanup in our neighborhood for the day of the trasition to the new company. It was 5 weeks (with everyones junk in the street) before anyone picked it up.The two companies were arguing about which company was supposed to pick it up. The old company said the new one was supposed to do it because the city had switched. The new company said that because the old company ordered it before the city had decided to switch, the old company was supposed to do the pickup. It was only picked up (both companies) after the 5 weeks because a neighbor emailed a news station and they did a story (evening news hehehe) about the junk, and neither company liked the bad press.”