News In The Hebden Bridge List

Council & SITA UK Determined To Get Collections Sorted

Calderdale Council and its recycling and waste management company, SITA UK, say they are determined to get the waste collection service sorted.

Council and SITA UK staff are meeting daily to troubleshoot problems and put them right, as a matter of urgency. The team will focus specifically on missed collections and other complaints, setting tough targets to resolve the early problems.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Baines thanked the people of Calderdale for their patience, he said:

“As a Calderdale resident myself, I recognise that this has been difficult and, at times, frustrating for some residents. However I also know that we can overcome these hurdles and have a waste collection service which is second to none. Our plans to introduce weekly collections, wheeled bins and food waste in one go have been ambitious but I know we can do it and we can be one of the best in the country”.

There have been a number of missed collections, a delay in the delivery of containers and the contact centre has struggled to cope with the number of residents’ enquiries. However there are already signs of improvement. Following the team starting work, the number of reported problems has decreased, delays getting through to the Council’s contact centre have reduced and 95% of households are now participating in recycling, well above the expected target.

Councillor Baines added:
“Doing nothing was not an option for Calderdale. Being one of the last Councils in the country to change our collections, we were in danger of incurring costs of nearly £6million – the equivalent of a seven per cent increase in council tax – if we did not change from our old system. We were simply not prepared to pass these costs onto our residents.”

“I would like to thank people for their patience, their excellent recycling efforts so far and promise that the new service will improve and soon.”

Dave Foster, Logistics Director for SITA UK said:
“SITA UK is a company that values the communities in which it is a part and we apologise for the problems that some residents have experienced over recent weeks. We have been monitoring service levels and are pleased to report that we have had a 98% success rate in waste and recycling collections to all 87,000 households. This is a very high success rate for this stage in the contract, however, we are committed to getting it right for all our residents.”

“We hope the numerous measures we have implemented including adding further recycling vehicles, additional crews for missed collections and support services to our team will help achieve this.”

To check arrangements residents can use a postcode look-up service and download a collection calendar from www.recycleforcalderdale.org. If people would like more information, they can look on the Council’s website at www.calderdale.gov.uk, email us on customer.first@calderdale.gov.uk call 0845 245 7000.