Scrutiny reviews waste management and street cleansing performance
Street cleanliness, litter bins and bin collections have come under the spotlight in a review of St Albans City and District Council’s new waste management and street cleansing contract.
The Council’s Community, Environment and Leisure Scrutiny Committee reviewed performance of the first six months of the new contract with Veolia at a meeting on 17 January. The Committee received a report saying residents have responded “very positively” to the collection service, but there were some “performance low points” under the contract as well.
The Committee acknowledged that the new waste collection and recycling scheme had led to a significant increase in the household recycling rate to almost 60%. It rose to 59.5% for the last three months of the year in 2016, up from 53% for the same period in 2015. The Committee was told that the new scheme is on track to meet the Council’s recycling targets. These are 57% for 2016/17 and 62% for 2017/18.
The Committee welcomed this, but raised concerns about street cleanliness, in particular regarding the collection of leaves in outer St Albans and the villages. Committee members also expressed concern about the emptying of on-street litter bins and the number of customer contacts with Veolia, including reports of missed bin collections. They were told that reports of missed bin collections, in particular by residents in flats and houses of multiple occupation, have reduced since the start of the contract. Members were also informed that staff shortages in relation to street cleansing and the emptying of litter bins have been addressed and performance in these areas was improving.
Other improvements have also been made. These include closer monitoring of street cleansing standards and a pilot scheme in Redbourn of stickers on litter bins asking people to notify Veolia if they need emptying. Officers are also working with Veolia on a revised street cleansing schedule that is due to be implemented in February.
The Committee heard that as a result of these specific actions and the contract’s natural bedding in process, issues are being resolved and service levels are improving. The officers’ report concluded that “in general, service delivery levels at the end of the first six months of the new waste management and cleansing contract are acceptable”.
At the end of the meeting, it was resolved that a strategy for improving street cleansing, litter bin emptying and leaf collection be made available to the Committee. The Committee also asked to see a plan to promote customer contact numbers more widely.
Councillor Anthony Rowlands, Chair of the Community, Environment and Leisure Scrutiny Committee for St Albans City and District Council, said:
“Officers' report on the first few months of Veolia's new contract showed that their performance had been disappointingly mixed.
“It is welcome news that the contractor and residents have achieved increases in recycling rates. However, it is clear that the contractor has underperformed in a number of ways. Committee members reported many examples of inadequate or non-existent leaf clearance.
“The report admitted that standards of street cleanliness have been below expectation. Overflowing litter bins remain a problem, especially in urban areas. Initially, refuse and recycling services to flats were poor, but we were assured that problems are being overcome. The number of 'customer
contacts' which peaked at 700 per day in August was still well over 250 per day in October - the latest month reported. It's a curate's egg overall.
"Thanks are due to the local workforce for their efforts in implementing the new contract, but we should require much better performance from Veolia's management. The Committee asked to be kept informed by officers about steps being taken to achieve higher service delivery standards.”
“Our team is working hard in the District to ensure the high standards of cleanliness are maintained. In partnership with the Council, roads susceptible to leaf fall were identified and during the autumn arrangements were made for the regular cleansing of these, in addition to normal street cleansing operations. We will be working with the Council to review these roads in preparation for next year’s leaf fall clearance."
The meeting was webcast and can be watched on the Council’s website. The agenda and papers for the meeting are available online.
Councillor contact:
Councillor Anthony Rowlands, Chair of the Community, Environment and Leisure Scrutiny Committee for St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 839132
Mob: 07761232064
Email: cllr.a.rowlands@councillor.stalbans.gov.uk
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson,
Senior Communications Officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317
E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
www.stalbans.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StAlbansCouncil
Notes:
The Community, Environment and Leisure Scrutiny Committee scrutinises and takes an overview of the work of the Council. It has a particular focus
on the areas covered by the Community Engagement and Localism; Environmental and Sports, Leisure and Heritage portfolios.