The ‘Recycle for Dorset’ scheme was rolled out to 48,000 households in the area in October 2014 as part of the Dorset Waste Partnership’s plan to introduce a standardised collection service across the county.
The beleaguered Partnership came under fire from local councillors in Weymouth and Portland in April over its plan to address a £2.8 million overspend in its budget.
The authority initially rejected the 37-point action plan citing ‘operational issues’ that needed to be resolved – and commissioned a review on the potential cost of moving its recycling service back in-house. However, councillors in the borough have since endorsed the plan (see letsrecycle.com story).
Now, figures released by Dorset county council on Friday show that missed bin collections in the borough have dropped from 2,747 in October 2014 to 875 in September 2015.
The total number of general complaints received through the council website about the Partnership has similarly fallen from 250 in October to 85 in September, while formal complaints escalated to senior management are down from 55 in January to 10 in September.
Action Plan
The Partnership states that the “improving” waste services are due to implementing its action plan.
This includes:
- Replacing older hired vehicles with a newly purchased fleet, including spare vehicles supplied at no extra cost to help cover breakdowns;
- Adjusting collection rounds to make them more manageable and reduce missed collections;
- Introducing a new sickness management policy across the DWP to help reduce short-term absence and spending on agency staff;
- Engaging with the workforce to improve service standards;
- And, working with Weymouth and Portland borough council to monitor problems with waste in the Park District of Weymouth town centre.
Commenting on the turnaround, councillor Ian Bruce, chair of Weymouth and Portland Borough council’s management committee, said: “I am delighted that such good progress has been made since the head of community protection and I met with the DWP back in August and that changes to the service in the Park District are proving successful.
“I know the DWP team are working hard to make further improvements and we look forward to the time when householders in Weymouth and Portland are universally pleased with the service provided.”
Problems
Councillor Anthony Alford, chair of the Dorset Waste Partnership Joint Committee, added: “Since the problems we experienced in the first few months of the new service, we have worked closely with the borough council to identify and tackle persistent issues, such as repeated missed collections and mess in the Park District.
“As a result of targeted efforts by local staff, services on the ground are now running much more smoothly and complaints have dropped significantly. We will continue to work alongside the council to ensure residents get the best possible service they deserve.”
The Recycle for Dorset service has now been introduced across the whole of Dorset, with the final 20,000 households in the Bridport, Beaminster and Lyme Regis area starting earlier this month.
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