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#BINMAGEDDON: Council admits Veolia’s failing on the job

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The situation has become so dire that residents are being asked not to report when their street’s collections have been missed. By STEVEN DOWNES

Piled high: waste collections have been missed for weeks. Today, Croydon Council issued an apology

A senior council executive this afternoon rushed out a “wholehearted apology” to residents over the increasingly unreliable service being provided by rubbish contractors Veolia, blaming the many failures on driver shortages and increased traffic.

The council’s press release, hurried out from the propaganda bunker at Fisher’s Folly late this afternoon, appears to be a direct response to Inside Croydon’s reporting on “Binmageddon”, and the worsening state of the borough’s streets, which has led to infestations of rats, mice and maggots on people’s doorsteps.

The statement issued from the cash-strapped council amounts to an admission that Veolia is failing on the job.

Rubbish and recycling collections “are being severely impacted”, according to the council, which blames not the management of Veolia, nor the contractors’ failure to plan, train and recruit, but on “the HGV driver shortage and traffic congestion around fuel stations”.

The situation has become so dire that residents are being asked not to report any further missed collections.

The council statement says, “If their road is not collected on schedule, residents are asked to not report this as a missed collection, but to leave their waste and recycling out and crews will get to them as soon as possible.”

The council promises to publish daily updates on its website, including which roads have been affected.

Sarah Hayward: apology

The council adds, “Residents should continue to report individual missed collections – where crews collect from other properties on their street but miss theirs – report [sic] the same way as usual.”

Residents are directed to click on this link to the council’s website. No mention is made of the council’s CrapApp, which has no category for logging missed rubbish collections.

“We apologise wholeheartedly to our residents for the inconvenience this is causing them – we understand how frustrating it is when waste and recycling collections are delayed,” said Sarah Hayward, the council executive director responsible.

“Please bear with us and be assured that our crews are working hard to get to you as soon as they can.

“We are working closely with our contractor Veolia to find solutions and will keep you updated.”

Read more: Questions raised over new £21m rubbish deal with Veolia
Read more: Veolia worker dies in the heat during Thornton Heath bin round


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