Bin man blasts waste scheme

11:56am Wednesday 2nd July 2008

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A BIN man has branded the new Cotswold waste scheme a disaster.

The SITA employee, who does not wish to be identified, has spoken out against Cotswold District Council's flagship green waste scheme following its official launch last Monday.

He said under the old rubbish collections the SITA employees, contracted to collect waste by CDC, were finished by 12pm but since the roll-out of the new scheme the company has had to hire 30 extra agency staff and the bin men have been finishing around 6pm.

Extra lorries have had to be hired to cope with the heavy demand.

"Disaster is not the word. Cardboard, bottles, tins and paper were all supposed to be collected in one lorry but the ones the council bought are too small," he said.

He added: "On the first day the collectors had to go back three times to Cricklade from Chipping Campden and the North Cotswolds to empty the load. God knows what it is costing in diesel."

When the recycling is collected a dustcart has to follow behind to pick up the cardboard as it doesn't fit into the lorry.

He said: "It is a nightmare. We get it from customers who moan while you are taking the rubbish, asking when we will take their bins.

"Everybody has had a gut full of it here. When the scheme started on Monday they had to hire extra staff for extra lorries because they are too small. So we have got more staff and more lorries."

CDC's waste communications officer Mike Harris said the new service required more resources and therefore cost an extra £600,000 a year.

He said SITA provided two recycling collection vehicles for each area, one for paper and cardboard, the other for glass and cans.

"It will take a few weeks to establish whether the provision of two recycling collection vehicles for each area is the most efficient long-term solution," he said.

CDC's contract with SITA states the lorries should be no more than seven years old and many of them were due for replacement.

Mr Harris said: "The new lorries, which have been purchased by SITA, include recycling vehicles that are more adaptable to the needs of the new service as well as being more fuel efficient.

"The Council has planned and budgeted for additional transitional costs during the introduction of the service. The cost of supplying additional recycling vehicles and crews will be partially offset by the extra income generated by the sale of those recyclable materials and by the recycling credits which the council receives for diverting waste away from landfill sites."