Residents ‘fed up’ with late bin collections

Residents are losing patience with late bin collections, according to councillors who questioned waste managers on what was being done about it.

Swansea councillor Lyndon Jones said residents in Bishopston were “pretty fed up with” the situation while Cllr Peter Black said his perception was that people in his Cwmbwrla ward were “getting very impatient”.

Last month the council said late kerbside collections were being caused by staff sickness and minor issues with refuse lorries and that candidates for 20 additional refuse jobs were being shortlisted.

Vacancies

Chris Howell, the council’s head of waste, cleansing, and parks, told a scrutiny committee on July 16 there were also 12 waste personnel vacancies to fill meaning a total of 32 staff would be recruited.

Mr Howell said the “resource issue” had affected the service for the last three months and that it was proving hard to get last-minute replacements – particularly drivers – from employment agencies. He said the level of delays was “undesirable” and the department was working hard to resolve the situation.

And he added that kerbside collections had been “more on track” of late and the council was now missing two rounds per week on average.

Mr Howell said interviews for the new recruits were planned for next week and he expected many of the successful candidates to be current agency workers with experience of the job. It might take a bit longer, he said, to train refuse lorry drivers although they would already have the relevant driving licence.

Cllr Peter May said kerbside waste collection was a basic service and there was a perception among some people this was effectively what they paid council tax for though Cllr May said it helped fund lots of other services as well. “Is it a Swansea problem or are all Welsh authorities affected equally?” he asked of the staffing issues.

Matthew Perkins, Swansea’s waste management group leader, said the county was not alone in experiencing this problem. Council leader Rob Stewart reiterated that action was being taken to beef up resources and the aim was to get to a point where the council could catch up on a delayed collection the same day.

Cllr Matthew Jones said he’d worked for 20 years in the waste industry at a neighbouring authority and that short-term sickness, staff no-shows and vehicle breakdowns, were not unique to Swansea. “It’s very, very disruptive,” he said.

The committee was told the delays in Swansea didn’t seem to be affecting recycling rates with provisional figures for April, May, and June showing a recycling rate of over 70% – one of the highest in Wales.

Cllr Cyril Anderson, cabinet member for community, said: “I apologise on behalf of the department. We are going through some sticky times but I have got all the confidence in my officers and operatives that are trying their damndest to alleviate the problem. I’m hoping that this issue will be resolved shortly.”