More staff to tackle bin fiasco

The move follows a meeting between Kier and Rother District Council at Eastbourne last Friday.

Tony Leonard, Rother District Council lead director for the joint waste committee, said: “The meeting allowed us to have a very constructive discussion about how the waste contract was working and how it could be improved.

“There have been significant improvements in the service being offered but Kier recognised that they still need to improve on the number of missed bins.

“Kier are now reducing the number of temporary staff and replacing them with permanent staff, which will mean crews have a greater familiarity with the district and can therefore deliver a better service to residents.

“There have been many positives such as the street and beach cleaning service.

“The partners agreed a number of ways to improve the way they work together and with Kier and we remain confident that the contract will provide an excellent service and value for money for the people of Rother for the long-term future.”

Rother received an unprecendented number of calls and complaints since launching the new bin collection scheme in June.

It received 31,000 complaints and queries in just one month alone.