Missed recycling collection rates treble across Brighton and Hove

From April last year to March this year, Cityclean missed 1,089 recycling collections per 100,000 in Brighton and Hove.

The council’s rubbish and recycling service was given a target of no more than 303 missed recycling collections per 100,000 – 10 per cent down on the 2018-19 figure.

The statistics do not include bins that were not left out or could not be collected because they were contaminated.

A report going before Brighton and Hove City Council’s Policy and Resources Committee this week said that covid-19 affected the service towards the end of the 2019-20 financial year.

Recycling collections were suspended for a week in late March and limited collections operated for a further week because collecting rubbish was prioritised over recycling for public health purposes.

However, reports of missed collections during this period still counted towards the final figures.

Labour councillor Anne Pissaridou, chair of the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee, said: “The last year has seen a number of issues for Cityclean that have impacted on collections.

“These have included the fire at the Hollingdean Waste Transfer Station, a large number of vehicle breakdowns, staff shortages and now Covid.

“We understand how frustrating missed collections can be, but these issues have now been overcome.

“With staff now returning from self-isolation due to lockdown, a fleet replacement programme underway, improving rounds that are having difficulties and investment in technology, we should see an improvement in the rate of collections.”

Green councillor Pete West said: “The appalling news that a staggering 1,089 per 100,000 recycling bin collections have been missed will sadly come as no surprise to anyone living in Brighton and Hove.

“The sight of an overflowing bin has almost become routine. Worse still, while it’s clear that Covid-19 will have had an impact on the Cityclean service in recent months, this does not explain away the repeated decline in bin collections across the last few years.

“The numbers tell a different story: that despite pledges that Labour councillors would directly ‘oversee the service’, the organisation of one of our most basic services, bin collection, continues to fail.

“We were told previously that missed collections were the result of the fire at the waste transfer facility. Then we were told there were a higher number of vehicle breakdowns. At one point, we were told that warm weather overheating trucks was to blame.

“The problem is, residents have heard it all and have grown tired of assurances that things will improve.

“There is clearly something deeply wrong at Cityclean and we urge the Labour council to do more to ensure residents actually see the rate of collections improve – not just find themselves the recipients of more empty promises.”

The report promises a review to find a solution for “persistent” missed collections.

A round restructure project and improving the service by using technology is expected in a report due in September.