The Audit Commission has also warned that the unitary council's waste management service does not provide value for money.
” The council is aware of the major waste disposal challenges that it faces in the near future. However, it does not yet have the plans or capacity to resolve them. “
– Ian Davidson, Audit Commission
Although the council has conceded that its service has not been cost-effective, it said that the current contract for waste collection and recycling – with waste firm Cleanaway – finishes in 2008.
In an inspection report published on Thursday, the Audit Commission gave Thurrock a “fair” one star service, calling its prospects for the future “uncertain”.
Challenges
Commission inspectors said the council faces “major technical and financial challenges on waste disposal”. The report warned that Thurrock's plans and budgets are not in place to meet its proposed recycling targets or to meet its future landfill allowance limits. It said the service had “not consistently provided value for money” since it was a “high cost” service with no link between pay and performance.
Although inspectors noted some improvement in Thurrock's recycling rates, they added: “There has been little recent consultation on options for increasing recycling or alternative to landfill.”
Ian Davidson, Audit Commission senior manager, said: “The council is aware of the major waste disposal challenges that it faces in the near future. However, it does not yet have the plans or capacity to resolve them. It will need to engage with local people and partners to find workable solutions.”
Thurrock
Responding to the report, Thurrock borough council dismissed the inspectors' comments, suggesting that the Audit Commission had paid too much attention to the current contract with Cleanaway.
A Thurrock statement said: “We are disappointed with the overall score of the services and believe the rating does not reflect the true improvements achieved in the environmental services Thurrock provides.
“Indeed, the council believes the judgement is heavily determined by the Commission's review of the current waste contract,” it added.
Thurrock will be seeking tenders for a new contract to run from 2008. The current contract was inherited from the council's previous Labour administration, not initiated by the current Conservative leadership.
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Thurrock currently provides a weekly kerbside box collection service for paper/card, glass, cans and plastic bottles, with collected material sent to Cleanaway's Greenwich materials recycling facility for sorting.
Recycling rates in the borough were at 16.4% in 2004/05, below the 22.5% national average.
However, Thurrock has expanded its waste management team by around 75%. John Byford has also been brought in as the new waste and recycling manager.
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