The council said the contractor, which it entered into a new contract in May, has failed to meet its obligations after residents experienced missed collections, delayed recovery services and difficulties with reporting issues.
According to the authority, the introduction of the new contract has been affected by “significant issues” with waste and recycling collections, which it said were exacerbated by periods of extreme weather.
Suez, who apologised for the situation, also pointed to the “extremely high temperatures” as well as a shortage of drivers and older trucks breaking down as reasons that services have been disrupted in South Gloucestershire.
Nick Browning, Municipal General Manager at Suez, commented: “I’d like to apologise to all those affected by the disruption and reassure residents that we are working hard with council officers to recover the missed collections. Our crews are working overtime where practical and we have brought in trucks from other areas to provide support.
“We would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding while we rectify the issues.”
Transition to new service
In recent weeks, the council has received what is called a high volume of complaints from residents.
While the council acknowledged many households had successfully transitioned to the new arrangements, it also said that too many residents had received a level of service below the expected standard.
Council leaders Maggie Tyrell and Ian Boulton have written to Suez to formally complain, and the council confirmed that financial penalties are now being imposed because the contractor failed to meet the requirements of the contract.
Councillor Chris Willmore added: “The council took out a new waste contract with SUEZ in good faith but the level of service that we have received from the company has been appalling.
“Residents expect their bins to be collected on time and to be able to communicate with the company when there is an issue – for many people this has not happened. Councillors and residents alike all feel we have been let down.
“However, the public are pleased with the improvements we have made in recycling and in particular the roll out of soft plastics recycling across the district.
“We will continue to push SUEZ to get to the root of the problem to ensure everyone has their recycling and black bin collected on time.”
Register for free to comment