The council says there have been several delays to collections in some areas of Harlow during the last few weeks.
Seventeen areas did not have food waste collections and 18 areas did not have communal bins emptied on 17 May, the council said, while two areas did not have residual waste collections completed.
Harlow served Veolia with ‘contract rectification notices’ on 12 and 18 May, saying the notices could lead to fines if improvements were not made.
However, collections were up to date as of 21 May.
A Veolia spokesperson told letsrecycle.com yesterday (26 May): “In recent weeks some Harlow residents have unfortunately experienced delays with their recycling and waste collections. We have been working closely with Harlow council to resolve these issues and by deploying additional resources collections are now being made to council requirements.”
Harlow had a Labour council from 2012 to the local elections on 6 May, when it was ousted by the Conservatives. One of the new administration’s first actions was to demand that the borough’s contractor Veolia “improved” collections.
Veolia has managed waste for Harlow for 19 years. It signed a 10-year contract extension with the council in 2019.
Top priority
Councillor Alastair Gunn, Harlow council’s newly appointed portfolio holder for environment, said sorting out the town’s bin collections was his top priority.
In a statement issued on 21 May, the same day as his appointment to Harlow’s cabinet, Cllr Gunn said: “None of these issues or delays are due to the brilliant bin men and women. Harlow’s bin crews do an incredible job and have been some of the town’s heroes during the pandemic.
“I recognise the hard and often difficult work they have had to do to get the service back on track and offer them my heartfelt thanks, on behalf of all Harlow residents. The issues are about how Veolia are resourcing the delivery of the contract in Harlow.”
Cllr Gunn said he was working with Veolia to sort the “ongoing operational issues” and would mean the waste company’s management team soon to discuss how its performance could be improved. The council is looking at proposals to change some bin days to balance the number of collections.
Harlow council will continue to serve contract notices where collections are missed, he said.
Representing an estimated population of nearly 90,000, Harlow council had a household waste recycling rate of 41.1% in the 2019/20 financial year.
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