Somerset waste bosses apologise for poor service at Mendip council meeting

Mendip was the first part of Somerset to receive the new Recycle More collection service, with more items being recycled at the kerbside and refuse collections moving from fortnightly to once every three weeks.

Mickey Green, managing director of the Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP), spoke to Mendip District Council’s scrutiny board on Thursday evening (March 18) about ongoing challenges surrounding missed collections and the coronavirus.

But he was quickly forced onto the defensive by Councillor Bente Height, who unleashed a scathing rant on the performers of Suez (the SWP’s chosen contractor), calling the current situation “the worst I’ve ever seen”.

Other councillors were also critical of the SWP’s performance on waste collection and fly-tipping, with officers vowing that improvements would be seen in the coming months.

Ms Height, who has represented the Shepton East ward since 2011, focused her tirade on the SWP’s failure to empty communal refuse bins for blocks of flats or similar households.

She said: “For the life of me, I cannot and I will never understand how come when I went walking down through town today [March 18], I had in the surface street the communal bins which should have been uplifted yesterday.

“In Peter Street – another place where there are an awful lot of flats – they were not uplifted either.

“The only think I need now is something that can photograph stink – because it was horrendous.

“The only visible sign that we the taxpayer get anything from our money is that our rubbish and our recycling are being removed. Not left in the bags, not left on the pavement, not dumped in hedges – but you have not delivered that.

“We don’t want to pay any more – we want freebies now.

“You get money through Mendip [District Council] from some of the poorest in my ward – and they agree with me: we might as well put it into one big lorry, take it up to Viridor [at Avonmouth] and have it all burned, and then Viridor can distribute the heat through pipes.

“I’m sorry, it is simply not good enough. This year it’s the worst I’ve ever seen.”

Mr Green apologised to Ms Height, adding that he would ask his team to look into the issue in greater depth to prevent a repeat of these incidents.

He added: “We’ve changed the service in the last few weeks to increase the amount that people can recycle. But I do take on board that when a communal collection is missed, it can overflow quite quickly.”

Matt Canning, regional manager for Suez, also admitted: “We recognise the communal service has been under strength for a good few months.”

Other councillors had similar criticisms surrounding missed collections and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on waste services.

Councillor Sam Phripp. who lived in Kilmersdon near Radstock, said: “In my village we had a collection that was missed, and we were one of the lucky ones where you came back the next day, rather than having to wait a week.

“I heard a few of the things I heard from neighbours in the street – like ‘oh, everybody’s using covid as an excuse now’ and ‘oh, they’re just trying to claw money back from furlough’.”

Mr Green responded: “I will reassure you that none of our staff have been on furlough.

“We do get people turning up to our recycling centres with one cardboard box and claim it’s an essential journey. People are a little bit ‘done’ with covid now.”

Councillor Tom Killen, who lives in Ston Easton near Midsomer Norton, said that some of his residents had got a very poor deal since Recycle More had been implemented.

He said: “Some areas in my ward have experienced nine out of 11 collections being missed or late, as well as instances of one side of the street being missed while the other side’s waste is collected. This is all adding to their frustrations.

“I would like reassurance that you’re not just making short-term measures – what you’re implementing now should ensure there is a good service for the long term.

“On waste lorries, hatches aren’t being closed and lots of the recycling is ending up in the verges and around the villages, with residents having to go out and pick it up. That’s happening on a weekly basis and really does need to be addressed.”

Mr Green said any changes made would have a long-term focus, and apologised for crews missing the waste spilling out despite the new lorries being equipped with 360-degree cameras.

He said: “There are still humans involved, and humans aren’t perfect, especially when they’re under pressure.”

Councillor Michael Gay, who lives in Wanstrow between Shepton Mallet and Frome, raised concerns about the current rates of fly-tipping.

Mendip has seen a sharp rise in fly-tipping incidents since the pandemic began, with the most recent SWP figures showing a rise of more than 170 per cent in the last three months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.

He said: “The common view around my way is that, because of the fees charged at the recycling centres, we’re generating an industry where a man in a van will take away household and building rubbish and dump it in some farmer’s gateway for you.

“It seems to me that there is a danger that we’re transferring a cost from the recycling centres to idverde [the district council’s contractor] picking stuff up from the farmer’s gate.

“It is an increasing problem, not only in rural areas but on the outskirts of towns such as Frome.”

The council recently removed concrete blocks designed to discourage fly-tipping on Berkley Lane near the Commerce Park in Frome, following the expiry of a public space protection order (PSPO) for the surrounding area.

Mr Green said he would work with Mr Gay directly to address concerns about fly-tipping across his Postlebury ward.

Councillor Josh Burr, portfolio holder for neighbourhood services, stated after the meeting: “The change to Recycle More and the impact of coronavirus on Suez staffing levels have impacted on the service.

“We note the public have been supportive, understanding, tolerant and patient throughout these challenges.

“We now have an expectation that the service, moving forward, will return to the usual standard we have come to expect.”