Trafford Council demands action to improve bin collection service


Trafford Council has written to its waste contractor Amey demanding it improves the bin collection service in the borough.

It follows months of complaints from fed-up residents after a change in the timetable for collecting household waste in October.

Amey is employed by the Council to collect domestic waste as part of the One Trafford Partnership agreement between the two organisations.

The move comes after repeated meetings with Amey at a senior level where concerns were raised about the collection service and assurances were sought on actions to improve performance.
Unfortunately, these meetings have not led to the improvements that the Council was expecting.

In the strongly worded letter the Council says the service is failing and immediate action is needed to remedy the situation.

It goes on to say that under the current situation Amey’s persistent failures are placing the Council in a position where it is in breach of its statutory duties around waste collection, and that there are health and safety concerns as rubbish has not been collected from certain locations for a long time.

The letter demands that a series of measures are taken to deal with the problems in the short-term. These include:

  • Supervisors monitoring all collection rounds to ensure completion for all properties until there is a full cycle of rounds at the required performance level;
  • Additional resources to be deployed to ensure full completion of each round on the day due for collection
  • A proactive communications plan to provide accurate information to councillors and residents on performance and the improvement plan;
  • The drawing up of a detailed plan setting out details of how the service is to be maintained at the required contractual levels

The letter warns that if there is no improvement then the Council will look to exercise its rights under the agreement to step in and run the service on a temporary basis to get it back on track.

Trafford Council Leader Andrew Western said:

The waste collection service is simply not up to scratch - it is failing and the residents of Trafford deserve better.

I am getting complaint after complaint from angry and frustrated residents and I share their anger. What is happening is not good enough. Amey need to get their act together.

We were promised the route changes implemented back in October would lead to an improvement in the service but despite repeated assurance at the meetings we have had with Amey, it has not happened – the service has got worse.

Residents repeatedly face not having their bins collected and as a Council we cannot stand idly by and that is why we are demanding action.

Partnerships involve working together but I am afraid Amey are not delivering on their side of this partnership. “

Posted on Friday 10th January 2020