Big jump in complaints about privatised rubbish collections
COMPLAINTS about infrequent and unreliable bin collections rose sharply last year, a watchdog report reveals.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman blamed the rise on councils in England outsourcing to private firms.
It said it upheld 81% of the complaints it received – up from 69% last year. And it cited frequent incidents of repeated missed collections, infrequent bin rounds and poor complaint handling. In one case, a man had to take his rubbish to a relative for three months because the council failed to collect it. The watchdog said the privatisation of bin rounds had seen some households get a worse service. The ombudsman, Michael King, said outsourced services had “less frequent collections, more segregation of waste and extra charges for services that were once free”.