"Apology over missed bin collections in Coventry amid staff action"

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Residents have been told to leave their bins out if their collection is missed, with additional staff being deployed



Coventry council has apologised to residents for weeks of missed bin collections and put the “unacceptable situation” down to a dispute raised by staff.

Although a formal dispute has not been raised and the council denied workers are on strike, the authority said some crews had chosen not to complete their rounds.

The council said the action was over staffing numbers but it was introducing two additional recycling crews after talks with trade unions.

Issues have largely affected blue-lidded recycling collections, the council said, although residents have reported weeks of missed garden waste collections too and issued complaints to the council.

Additional collections are being carried out on Saturdays and Mondays to catch up, with the two additional recycling crews set to begin from Tuesday, June 22.

Residents have been asked to leave their bins out if they have not been collected.

A council spokesman said: “We apologise for the ongoing disruption to a small proportion of our overall waste collection service that has predominantly affected blue-lidded recycling bin rounds. This has been caused by some of our crews not completing their rounds.

“Although no formal dispute has been raised with the city council by trade unions, meetings have taken place over the last two weeks to try and resolve this unacceptable situation.

“Even though an agreement has been reached, a small number of crews are continuing with their action. This is now being dealt with through the appropriate council employee processes.

“An additional two crews will be deployed on recycling rounds from Tuesday next week which is sooner than planned. Also, we will continue to deploy additional resource on non-collections days of Saturday and Monday in an attempt to catch-up with outstanding collections. Therefore, residents are asked to leave their bins out if they have not been emptied.

“Once again, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to residents by this issue which is beyond our control. We are determined to ensure the people of this city receive the service they deserve and are doing all we can to resolve this matter as soon as possible. Finally, we would like to thank the vast majority of our crews that continue to work as normal.”

Trade unions have been contacted but are yet to comment.

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Coventry bin collections branded ‘in crisis’ amid staff dispute



Bin collections in Coventry have been branded a service “in crisis” amid a staff dispute which has been blamed for weeks of disruption across the city.

Coventry City Council apologised last week for the “unacceptable situation” which they said was “caused by some of our crews not completing their rounds”.

The authority said the staff action was over staffing numbers but it was introducing two additional recycling crews after talks with trade unions, which have yet to comment.

But Conservatives said the problem – coupled with rising fly-tipping and a disruptive Christmas service for three consecutive years – puts refuse collection “in crisis”.

Earlier in February, some residents reported no recycling collections for two months.

The council said current problems have again largely impacted recycling collections although residents have also reported issues with missed garden waste bins.

Deputy Conservative leader Peter Male, ward councillor for Woodlands, said: “Refuse collection in Coventry is clearly in crisis.

“Following the unacceptable collection rates over the Christmas period, Woodlands ward residents are now regularly experiencing missed bin collections, with fly tipping becoming an increasing blight across the city.

“This failing administration and the cabinet member for city services need to resolve these issues quickly and deliver an efficient and effective service for council tax-paying residents.

“I am forced to ask, whether now is the time to test the market for refuse collection and to put services up for tender.”

Cabinet member for city services Cllr Pat Hetherton was quizzed on current problems during a meeting of full council on Tuesday, June 22.

But she remained tight-lipped when asked if the service was in crisis and to clarify the current situation, stating she had been “advised” not to make further comments while talks with unions continue.

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Union hits out at Coventry council over bins row and calls for service to be "correctly resourced"

A union has called on bin collections in Coventry to be “correctly resourced” and criticised the city council for stating staff action is to blame for missed rounds.

The authority issued a statement last week apologising to residents after complaints of missed bin collections and put it down to “a small number of crews” taking action and “not completing their rounds”.

Trade unions have been in discussion with the authority over staffing numbers within the service in recent weeks, which the council said has resulted in two additional recycling crews being introduced this week.

But in response to the council’s statement on bin collections last week, union Unite has criticised the authority for its ‘unhelpful’ comments, and has stressed its position that workers are not taking any unofficial action.

Workers have complained about staffing numbers and want to see numbers increase, they said.

A Unite spokesperson said: “Unite recognises the essential hard work that refuse workers do, more so during the Covid pandemic keeping a vital service running.

“It is disappointing that despite the continuing hard work of the refuse workers and senior reps and Unite officers working with Coventry City Council that a press release was issued with unhelpful wording by the council.

“Unite has been raising the issue of correctly resourcing the refuse service for some time, it is noted that this is now being undertaken as a priority.

“No unofficial action is or has been undertaken by our members and the suggestion of that is unhelpful to our hard working refuse workers and the residents of Coventry.

“Unite continue to meet with Coventry City Council management and also had a productive meeting with council leader, deputy leader and cabinet members in order to maintain good industrial relations.”

A council spokesman said in response to Unite’s comments: “The council is in constructive dialogue with Unite as part of our work towards finding a solution to the current unacceptable situation that has seen some residents failing to receive the service they deserve regarding blue-lidded recycling bin collections.

“We are working hard to clear the backlog and thank those residents affected for the patience they have shown.”

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MP critical as Coventry residents complain of no regular bin collection ‘for seven months’

A Coventry MP has waded in on the city's bin row and called for action after some residents said they have been without a regular collection for seven months.

Taiwo Owatemi, MP for Coventry North West, has called on Coventry City Council to act fast to improve the service after continuing problems reported by residents.

She met with residents on Stevenson Road, in Bablake ward, after complaints their bins have not been regularly collected for seven months.

She said residents have also raised concern about a lack of communication from the council, not knowing whether their bins will be collected or what days to put them out.

Ms Owatemi said the current situation was “simply not on”.

She said: “This week I have been out meeting residents to listen and to talk about the problem of missed bin collections.

“It’s clear that in many neighbourhoods this has been a long-term problem and that’s simply not on.

“I will be pushing the city council to quickly improve the service locally and to improve its communications with the public about the current disruption.

“It needs to be clear to everyone when their rubbish and recycling will be collected and exactly when this disruption will be over.”

The council said its crews have had problems accessing in the past due to parked vehicles and has asked motorists to park considerately.

A spokesman said: “Stevenson Road is a street our crews have had problems safely accessing in the past due to parked vehicles. This has, on occasions, meant that bin collections have not been possible. However, residential waste was collected last week, and brown-lidded green waste recycling was also collected today (Friday, June 25).

“We would remind all motorists to remember to park considerately and ensure they are leaving sufficient room that is not only important for bin lorries but for emergency vehicles such as fire engines or ambulances.”

The council has said anyone who did not receive a collection on their designated day should leave it out for extra crews to collect on Saturday and Monday.

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Claims 36 bins left on road for a week as missed collection 'crisis' continues



A Coventry resident fears “somebody is going to get killed” due to missed bin collections blocking a path and pushing people into the road.

James Clyde said refuse workers do not take their lorry down Yellowstone Close, in Keresley, to pick up the bins.

He said residents have been forced to line up their bins in a row at the end of the road ahead of bin collection day.

However Mr Clyde said it is causing a safety issue as it is blocking the footpath and forcing people out into a main road if they want to cross.

At one point he said 36 bins were left out on the road for more than a week.

He said: “The grass and recycling bins have been sitting on the pavement for a week.

“They never came to collect them last week. So they came on Saturday and emptied the bins but they would not take anything else as it was not in the bins.

“They had been left for a week and there were 36 bins in total just lined up at the end of the road, on kerbs, but it meant people could not get past.

“If you can imagine 36 bins in a row it is blocking the dropped kerbs at the top so people can’t walk past. It is a big health and safety issue.

“One lady with a pushchair had to go into the road. There’s a bend on the road and people don’t stick to the 30mph limit. My first thought it somebody is going to get killed.”

Mr Clyde said he has lived on the road for four months and it has been a regular problem, but wants the council to start sending lorries into the road so it does not keep happening.

Coventry City Council said crews have issues accessing the road due to parked cars and have asked residents to ‘park considerately’.

A spokesman said: “Yellowstone Close is a street similar to others where we have problems gaining access when there are cars parked at the entrance to the street preventing the truck from being able to get in to collect the bins."

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Coventry woman left without bin collections for six weeks



A Coventry woman has been forced to pack her rubbish bags into her car and drive them to the tip as her bins have not been collected for almost six weeks.

Maureen Smith, who lives in the flat above the Royal Warwick's Club on Tower Street, which is run by her husband, David, says that the bins were dropped off by the council six weeks ago but are yet to have been collected.

Mrs Smith, 59, said: "When I first applied for the bins it took 12 weeks to get them and since we've received them they haven't been collected for six weeks.

"I called and emailed them and they keep saying they will come and collect them but they never do."

Mrs Smith has also spoken to the binmen when they pass in the mornings and she says that they have told her that her address is not on the council list for bin collections.

She added: "All the bins, black and green, are full and because they haven't been collected for weeks they're starting to smell.

"I have to load up the car and go to either Wyken to use my mum's bins at her house, or on the tip if I can book in that day.

"Because I work, it means that when I get a day off, it's spent getting rid of my rubbish."

A Coventry City Council spokesman said: “We are concerned to learn of difficulties with collections at the address in Tower Street, particularly as the address is included on our refuse collection rounds. It is possible that the crew who spoke to the customer were operating a different round as a number of crews operate in this area of the city.

“We can confirm that a collection crew has been tasked to visit as a matter of urgency to address outstanding collections. The council is sorry for any inconvenience caused”

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Coventry garden waste collections suspended as staff isolate



Garden rubbish collections are being suspended for a fortnight in Coventry because an increasing number of staff have been told to self-isolate.

The city council said the rise was due to crews having contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19 outside of work.

They added there is no outbreak of coronavirus within their bin service.

Household rubbish and recycling waste will be collected as normal during the garden waste suspension.

The suspension began on Wednesday and will last until the end of next week.

Andrew Walster, from the city council, said a "significant" number of bin staff had been told by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate.

"Given the levels of rising Covid-19 infections in the country and city, the levels of employees being told to self-isolate could even increase over the next two weeks," he added.

Refuse collections in Coventry have been in the spotlight after months of missed bin collections, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said earlier this month.

A report to the authority's cabinet in July said it had overspent on waste and street services by £3.5m in the last financial year, mainly due to the pandemic.

The extra spend included an extra £1.2m on extra staff to cover for sickness due to Covid-19 and for additional vehicles to allow for social distancing.

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Coventry garden waste bin collections suspended for a further week



Garden waste collections in Coventry are to be suspended for a further week as a result of the rising number of bin crews told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace.

The service has already been suspended for two weeks from July 14 due to the continued impact of what has come to be referred to as the ‘pingdemic’.

Coventry City Council says the increase has been due to contacts employees have had with a positive case outside of work and there is no Covid-19 outbreak in the service.

The council says the suspension of brown bin collections is taking place to ensure all household and recycling rounds – green and blue-lidded bins – will be completed in full as usual.

It said that other local authorities across the country faced with a similar position have been doing likewise.

Andrew Walster, director, streetscene and regulatory services at Coventry City Council, said: “We have decided to suspend garden waste collection for a further week.

“We know this will be disappointing – but we hope people will bear with us as we do our best to juggle crews to ensure we can collect recycling and household bins."

Mr Walster added: “We will be monitoring the number of our crews required to self isolate on a daily basis.”

“These are exceptional circumstances and I’d like to thank residents for their patience.”

A city council spokesman said that there was plenty of availability at the London Road tip this and next week should residents urgently need to dispose of excess garden waste.

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Here's a radical idea CCC, why not offer a small refund to the taxpayers because you aren't providing the service we are paying you for?

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Coventry council resumes brown bin collections - but there might still be delays

Council garden bin collections will be going ahead this week after being suspended for the past three weeks.

The service has been suspended as a result of the number of crews who have been told to self-isolate by NHS Track and Trace.

Coventry City Council has said that the increase in cases has been as a result of contacts with people testing positive for Coronavirus outside of work and that there has not been a Covid-19 outbreak in the service.

However, there are still a number of bin crews who are self-isolating and the council has noted there could still be further delays in collecting bins across the city.

A tweet from the council reads: "Garden waste collections are going ahead for those with a scheduled collection today but we have a reduced number of crews due to self-isolation.

"If we don’t get to you today, please leave your brown-lidded bin out and we will get to you as soon as we can."

The council suspended the collection of brown bins to ensure that household and recycling bins would continue to be collected as usual.