Bin collection problems which have plagued the Helensburgh area have now entered a third month – and a councillor has said residents should formally complain.
Argyll and Bute Council today issued another apology for the problems and a list of new collection dates for bins – in some cases nearly two weeks later than scheduled.
Residents on the Rosneath Peninsula complained about delays to wheelie bin collections in December, and Helensburgh, Rhu, Arrochar, Luss and Garelochhead have all been affected.
A lorry crashing in wintry weather and another breaking down were said to have contributed to the problem.
This week Cllr George Freeman said: “My own bins and those of many of my neighbours that were due to be emptied last Thursday, remain on the pavement four days later still waiting to be emptied.
“I believe that this standard of service is totally unacceptable. This is certainly not the first time recently that there have been problems with the bin collection service across the Helensburgh and Lomond area.
“Given the number of complaints I have received on this issue over recent days, I am reminding constituents that they can use the council’s formal complaints procedure if they are unhappy with any service that the council provides or fails to provide.”
Cllr Freeman has written the council chief executive Pippa Milne saying the situation was ‘totally unacceptable’.
He added: “Although we are told to leave our bins out as they will normally be serviced on the following day, bins are lying over the pavements since last week.
“My own bins were put out on Wednesday of last week for collection on Thursday February 24.
“Nothing happened. Friday came and went and nothing happened.
“Given that I was told that the council had “managed to secure additional resources (an extra crew and a hired bin lorry)”, I thought that the bins would have been serviced over the weekend. Unfortunately not.”
Today the council said: ” We apologise for the ongoing delays with bin collections in Helensburgh. Additional resources are being used to help the crews catch up.”
The added tat the service would be up to date from Monday March 7, and a revised schedule for bin collections was drawn up until then:
- Garelochhead: Blue and green bins were both due on February 24, new date March 2.
- Arrochar and Luss: Blue and green bins were both due on February 25, new date March 5.
- Rhu: Green bins due on February 23, new date March 3.
- Helensburgh: Blue bins due on February 22 and 23, new date March 2.
- Cove: Blue and green bins were both due on February 25, new date March 3.
Food bins for all areas are due to be emptied on Friday March 4.
It does not seem that Shandon exists. My green bin was due to be uplifted on 17th February and is still by the side of the A814!
Following on from my email to the Council’s Chief Executive on the ongoing problems with the bin collection service, I received a response yesterday evening along with other local councillors from the Head of Service that reads as follows:
Dear all
As you know from earlier updates we have been experiencing problems with our bin collection services in your area. I am pleased to be able to provide you with some additional information on the current status of the service, which is noted in the table below. Any areas not mentioned in the table should be back on schedule. If the current progress is maintained, then services should be back on an even keel from Monday. [The response then included the details on the changed collection dates highlighted in the report above which I have omitted to save space].
There may be the odd missed bin as part of the catch up as we have deployed additional staff members and additional vehicle not fully familiar with the area. We will post this information on the Council website in a short while, asking anyone who hasn’t had their bins attended to by the above noted dates to contact us in the normal way e.g. by the online form or contact centre.
The problems we are experiencing are largely as a result of:
• Vehicle reliability issues and supply chain issues affecting availability of some spare parts.
• As extraordinarily high numbers of staff absence.
• A noticeable increase in the overall tonnage of general waste being collected over the past five years.
Officers are currently looking at various data sources with a view to considering how this extra tonnage can be managed long term. We would like to apologise to anyone affected by the recent disruption to service, and to any Members who have received high volumes of complaints as a result. I have reiterated to the local team the need to be on the front foot with information, and going forward we will be looking to provide more structured updates about missed collections as per the above table.
Thanks for your patience and support with these issues,
In response to that email from the Head of Service, I have gone back with an email this morning in which I wrote:
“I am in receipt of your email and note what you say. Firstly, as far as the bins at Garelochhead, that were due to be emptied on Thursday 24 February 2022 are concerned, I can now confirm that the recycling bins were emptied on Tuesday 1 March and the non-recyclable bins and food waste bins were emptied on Wednesday 2 March (yesterday). Obviously, it follows that very few people have not put their bins out last night for servicing today as it is assumed that there will be no routine collection at Garelochhead today as your email appears to indicate.
This continues to be an ongoing problem within my Lomond North Ward and I am aware that similar problems exist across all of the Helensburgh and Lomond Area (H&L) as I have been contacted by a number of people from Helensburgh and across parts of H&L out with my ward who have also highlighted their concerns to me with regards to this service.
A number of constituents / H&L residents have raised a number of areas of concern with me that I believe need to be addressed so that elected members have a clear picture of what is happening with this service within H&L. Within the responses I have received, it has been stated that, behind the scenes, there are various issues that are impacting on the bin collection service in H&L as follows:
a. I am told that on the ground, crew members who previously completed their collection runs before returning to their base, have now been informed by management that they must attend, mid shift, for a break at their depot which entails crews in outlying area’s such as Arrochar and Kilcreggan having to stop mid run and return to base.
b. Crews have been advised that no additional hours will be provided in order to complete collections.
c. Crews have been advised that one bin at a time is to be taken to their vehicle as opposed to the previous two.
d. Staff members have been advised they will all be required to sign new contacts, with altered hours of work, or face dismissal.
e. Crews working later hours find that when their vehicle is full there is no option to empty and continue with their run as amenities to empty the vehicle are closed.
A number of constituents have highlighted that when they recently contacted the Council with regard to recycling waste not being collected, being advised to place bins outside on the footpath on a night when “there was a severe weather warning of high winds and the fact that several elderly and disabled neighbours bins ended up in varying different locations and devoid of their contents which were scattered over several streets”. The advice was that the callers were to collect the loose refuse ourselves (not possible in the case of elderly / disabled neighbours) and that the amenities supervisor should NOT have issued an email saying the bins were to be put out in this weather.
As a work study / method study professional in the past, if the statements highlighted above are correct, then it concerns me greatly that if the changes referred to are correct, then such changes can only lead to a much reduced service and / or a great deal of additional resources to maintain an acceptable standard which is not being delivered at this time. An early response to each of the points detailed above would be appreciated.
As you will be aware, I raised a number of issues in my email dated 28 February 2022 to the Chief Executive on this subject which have not been answered. It would be appreciated if the information requested in that email could be provided please?
Again, I must highlight that none of what I have said should be taken as criticism of the crews / staff on the ground who have always worked like beavers and have attracted nothing but positive comments over the years.
I have argued for years that the Council needs to get the basic services right. These can probably be counted on one hand. Get any of them wrong and the view of the Council becomes even more negative as far as the public is concerned.
I now await a reply fromthe Head of Service
I wonder if there is any truth in the stories about changed work practice arrangements?
The workers were often here long before any other workers would normally start work; they worked very quickly and efficiently and it may be that they finished their rounds long before their contracted hours were due to end.
Has the council poked at a wasp’s nest and perhaps contributed to our current lesser service and added expenditure on additional resources?
Looks like the Council have decided to share the problem around. It’s the turn of Cardross to have unemptied recycling bins this week. Still, it’s not a lot to complain about given what’s going on in the world. I just hope A&B Council never have to organise a civil defence force.