Hopes new routes will improve refuse service

‘We apologise to those residents who have not received a good enough collection service in recent months ’

New bin collection routes are set to be rolled out across the district as under fire contractor Serco continues to face criticism.

The firm has been told it still needs to up its game after a dreadful review of its performance over failures to properly collect rubbish.

As part of proposed changes, new routes are planned to start in June, resulting in collection days changing for many residents in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay.

David Ford, the city council’s head of commissioned services, says it has been working with Serco to ensure improvements are made.

“Serco has put forward a proposal to make some changes to collection routes, which we are currently considering,” he said.

“Currently, the routes are quite tight at the start of the week but easier towards the end.

“The hope is that by putting in place some changes to collection days in some areas of the district, the routes will be better-balanced and fewer bins will be missed.

“If agreed, these would be implemented in June and the aim would be to keep the number of people who would get a day change to a minimum. There would be plenty of communication with affected residents well in advance.

“We apologise to those residents who have not received a good enough collection service in recent months and hope that any route changes will result in a significant improvement.”

Mr Ford presented the council’s sixth-monthly review to members its community committee last Wednesday night.

It follows a review in the late summer in which the council branded Serco’s performance level “unacceptable” after complaints of rubbish piling up across the district.

The service has since improved, Mr Ford said, but it needs to better still.

“There were issues with the waste contract caused by a variety of problems including vehi- cle breakdowns, ineffective planning for the summer increase in green waste, the national shortage in qualified drivers of refuse trucks and changes to tipping arrangements,” he said.

“Action has been taken to try and address these issues, and the council has also made deductions from contract payments as a result of Serco’s failure to meet bin collection targets, but we have not seen the necessary improvements on a consistent basis.

“It is a very tight contract financially, so if payment deductions are not having the desired effect, it is clear that other solutions are needed.”

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Picture: Chris Davey New bin collection routes are set to be rolled out across the district as under fire contractor Serco has been told it still needs to up its game