News MBC working to get refuse collection back on track
Maidstone Borough Council is pulling ‘out the stops’ to rectify issues that have been hampering the refuse and recycling collections across the borough.
Disruption to collections over the past few months have been caused by a combination of issues, including vehicle breakdowns, traffic congestion, staff sickness, driver shortage and parked vehicles restricting access to residential properties, but the Council is determined to rectify the problems particularly during the busy festive season.
Working in collaboration with its service provider – Biffa, MBC has introduced daily 6am starts to collection rounds, added more vehicles to its fleet, dedicating crews to re-attempt collections where they have been missed and is actively recruiting drivers to fill-the-gap.
Jennifer Shepherd, MBC Head of Environment and Public Realm said:
“Maidstone Borough Council would like to apologise for the disruption to the refuse and recycling service over the past few months. Regrettably the disruption to service has been due to a combination of issues, predominantly vehicle breakdowns, and restricted access to areas which have resulted in collections being repeatedly delayed.“We are very sorry to the residents who have been affected and continue to work with Biffa to deliver a more reliable service. The collection crews are working hard to catch up, including shifts across the weekends, which both MBC and Biffa are extremely grateful for.
“If we can ask residents to put their bins-out the night before or by 6am to accommodate the earlier collections we would appreciate it and would be really grateful if residents can take extra care and consider where they park, especially over the Christmas period, to ensure that our vehicles are able to gain access. We will have additional crews and staff working over the festive period to help reduce the chance of services not being completed on time.
“On behalf of MBC can I thank everyone for bearing with us during this challenging time.”
In its continued work to tackle refuse collection issues the Council is also introducing 360degree cameras to vehicles in order to help evidence issues their crews face and monitor performance.
Details of refuse collections across the borough of Maidstone during the festive season can be found on the MBC website: www.maidstone.gov.uk