Missed bin collection complaints this summer in West Lothian have outstripped the numbers usually dealt with in the winter.
Labour’s Andrew McGuire questioned the surge in figures, 196 stage 1 complaints, and the number of stage 2 complaints at 48%- 8% above target.
“These are the kind of figures we would normally see in the winter, '' said Councillor McGuire echoing the report which went before the Environment and Sustainability Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel.
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David Cullen, recently appointed as waste and recycling manager, said the cleansing department had been dealing with “quite significant structural change” throughout the summer with the adoption of the twin streaming recycling collections.
The green bins are for collecting plastics, cartons, tins and cans. Once green bins are in place, only paper and card should be placed in the blue bin.
A report to the PDSP said: “The number of complaints upheld following investigation is low. The higher numbers received in July 2021 correlates with service disruption due to high volumes of annual leave.
“This will be monitored in 2022 and investment in the In-Cab system will support drivers in delivering a reliable service, reducing mistakes on unfamiliar beats.”
More than 80,000 green bins have been rolled out this summer and there have been difficulties. Mr Cullen said: “The roll out did not go as expected and we are still working on problems.”
There were streets where contractors had not delivered green bins by the time refuse crews had arrived to give them their first emptying.
“These were instances of missed bins where the bins had not been delivered to the households , added Mr Cullen.
He said he expected the level of complaints to fall as the system beds in and the bins roll out ios completed. Bins have yet to be delivered to flatted properties but this is now under way.
Councillor Diane Calder for the SNP said she wad disappointed to rises in complaints about missed bins especially where the takeout service was used . this is where bins are taken from gardens by crews because the householder is old or infirm.
Mr Culklen sad there had been instances of staff shortages and holidays but added that a new in cab information system meant that the demands of each particular route, and the number of take out bins meant that different crews would know what's was needed on each route and the system updated as old requests were deleted and new ones added. The sytem demands a tick box response as each take out bin is delat with.
“The system keeps track of the routes and keeps the crews informed,” Mr Cullen told the meeting.
He added that it was a “cultural shift, both at the front end of the service and also for the managers in terms of delivering training and meeting the initial resistance of staff ”
New training for crew leaders and staff is already under way and, again, Mr Cullen believed performance would improve as the use of the new onboard collection tracking beds down.
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