Thirteen bin lorries were out of action and agency staff proved “unreliable” over the summer, affecting Brighton and Hove rubbish and recycling collections, councillors were told.
The details emerged at a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting yesterday (Tuesday 19 September) at Hove Town Hall where councillors quizzed managers from Cityclean, the council’s rubbish and recycling service.
The 13 bin lorries awaiting repair accounted for about a quarter of the fleet. With several vehicles more than seven years old, the council has started a 10-year modernisation programme to replace them, switching from diesel to electric.
Labour councillor Joy Robinson, who represents Central Hove, said that she had received repeated reports of missed communal rubbish and recycling collections in her area.
She accepted that missed collections were a problem not just in her ward but across Brighton and Hove because of “serious issues with the fleet”.
Councillors were told that a new vehicle had been ordered from a European supplier and was due next month, with three more due to be received at the Hollingdean depot by the end of the year.
Cityclean head of operations Melissa Francis told the council’s City Environment, South Downs and the Sea Committee that Brighton and Hove was the only council in the country using its particular communal bin system.
She said that it was not possible to borrow trucks from other councils – or use unadapted vehicles from Europe because they were configured for the opposite side of the road.
The new vehicles were ordered 18 months ago but their arrival had been delayed, she added.
Councillor Robinson said:
“Does that mean the residents of Central Hove and the whole of the city have got to put up with the bad service that’s happened over the last couple of weeks?”
Ms Francis said that the council struggled with the communal refuse vehicles because they were old and prone to breaking down.
Crews had been asked to cover each other’s rounds when available but did not always do so.
Ms Francis said:
“There are very restrictive working practises at Cityclean which means that, although that sounds straightforward, it is quite a challenge to be able to push through.”
Crews start their rounds early in the morning but Ms Francis added:
“We have also recruited a PM (afternoon) driver and operatives so if there are vehicle issues and we have none spare to collect during the day, they will start work in the afternoon and collect in the evening.”
The new team will carry on communal bin collections once the morning teams have finished.
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