Council misses rubbish and recycling collection targets

Performance indicators for refuse and recycling suggest that the service is deteriorating, with the report to councillors flagging up the issue.

From January to March this year, Brighton and Hove City Council averaged 79 missed weekly refuse collections out of every 100,000.

Recycling is worse with 175 missed per 100,000.

The council’s target for both is no more than 46 missed collections.

The issue is flagged in a report to the council’s policy, resources and growth committee which meets on Thursday (July 12).

There are more than 110,000 households in Brighton and Hove.

Messages on the Refuse and Recycling Twitter account reveal daily complaints relating to individuals properties as well as missed collections from communal bins.

Weekly monitoring as well as a modernisation programme are under way to tackle the problem, the council said.

Currently 763 people have signed a petition on the council’s website, created by Patcham resident Arron Rickson, calling on the council to develop an action plan to deal with missed collections.

Mr Rickson said: “Interesting figures. Be interesting how they come up with the numbers. It’s a shame with regards to petition as so many people have been frustrated but haven’t signed.

“My personal road has been better but from Facebook the last couple of weeks look awful.”

Multiple complaints to the council’s refuse and recycling department on Twitter include incidents of fly-tipping next to communal bins.

Issues reported in just a few hours included rubbish on the pavement in Bonchurch Road, North Road, Over Street and Elder Place.

From April to December 2017, 28.7 per cent of household waste collected in Brighton and Hove was sent for reuse, recycling, composting or anaerobic digestion.

This misses the 40 per cent target but is the council’s best performance in the past eight years.

Among other missed performance indicators is street litter.

During checks between January and March, 4.3 per cent of streets in the city were not ‘predominantly free of litter and refuse except for some small items’.

Cash from fines is being used to provide a number of measures to prevent litter, dog fouling and graffiti, the report said.

The council’s key performance indicators are due to be discussed at the policy, resources and growth committee at 4pm on Thursday (July 12) at Hove Town Hall.

Sarah Booker-Lewis is the Local Democracy Reporter for Brighton & Hove.

For more of her stories, click here.