Garden waste customers are being given a month’s worth of collections for free after hundreds complained about missed pick-ups.
Last month, one councillor said Brighton and Hove City Council’s service appeared to be in “complete meltdown” while another said collections hadn’t happened for six weeks.
Today, the council said challenges with staffing levels and vehicle breakdowns were to blame and that it was taking urgent action to address both these issues.
It said while in most cases a collection is missed, it will catch up within days, but as this hadn’t always happened subscriptions to the service were being extended by a month.
Garden waste collections, which cost £97 a year, take place every fortnight, so each resident who is already signed up will benefit from two extra collections at no additional cost.
This will be added automatically, and residents will not need to take any action.
Councillor Tim Rowkins, Cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, said: “Unfortunately, in some areas, our collections have not been as reliable as they should have been recently, and I’d like to apologise to residents for the disruption to their service.
“We are working hard to make fundamental and systemic improvements in this area and are confident residents will see real improvements in the coming weeks.
“We are grateful for people’s patience and understanding and, as such, will be extending everyone’s garden waste subscriptions by one month as a thank-you.
“As part of our move towards greater transparency, we will also publish an update of those streets we know have been missed on any given day and when they can expect a collection.
“This will save the public having to report problems we already know about – and it means we can respond more quickly to make sure missed collections are caught up.
“People rightly expect a high-quality service and that is what we are determined to provide.”
Full details of the range of planned service improvements will be presented to councillors at the cabinet meeting taking place on Thursday, 15 May.
The staffing levels have been affected because they take them from garden waste and recycling to fill holes in general waste capacity. Staff morale is very low due to dense management making idiotic decisions whilst failing to make provision for holidays or sickness absences. The fleet is crumbling and the drivers are tired but no-one wants to grasp the nettle and ensure a decent service.
4 missed collections over 8 weeks and my subscription has been extended 1 month but over Christmas when there are no collections anyway! I keep asking for a refund but never get an email back. Very frustrating when you pay for a service and do not receive it.
What about the areas that had at least 6 weeks with no collection?
How many times are Labour going to through out the excuse of staff shortages and vehicle issues! Everyone else to blame but them eh
You run the council, try acting like it!
I don’t think that’s compensation at all – as the additional month is just replacing what we’ve already paid for. Compensation would surely be an extra week free. I’m not sure this is the right procedure in any case as the contract with the householder is for a year and to keep extending the contract just to complete missing collections is open to abuse by the council. All it does is provide the Council with continuing opportunities to extend the contract over a longer timeframe, but only providing the same amount of collections. How about a system where a missed delivery automatically generates a rebate for that week.
Yes, I totally agree! I live in mid sussex, they are far better, and my parents at woodingdean pay a huge council tax, second to London… crazy, you are right, the council make out they are doing a favour by extra month, which was what they’ve already missed, they should give 2 or 3 extra collections after the contract time finishes, so bad… very frustrating..97 pounds x2 is alot extra to pay for nothing!!
The council had 5,804 missed garden waste collections reported to them in 2024, this figure was up considerably on the number reported in 2023. Unless the council simply agrees to refund people who have paid for a service they haven’t received, this is just tokenism.
I’d also question whether it is OK for the council to announce this refund on a day coinciding with a by-election being held. Missed bin collections are a hot issue in the city, and one that the current administration have used to score political points on in the past (not always being transparent with the facts or history of the problems). With service issues being so dreadful at present, it feels like pure electioneering to announce a refund to coincide with a by election – was this signed off by officers who should be politically neutral and cautious about announcements during purdah?
This is a service that residents pay for. Receiving a refund of missed collections is not being given free waste collections. Our Labour Council are spinning themselves out of control. Can’t do the basics. Collecting the rubbish, Filling the Potholes & Removing Graffiti
The council have not given me anything, they have missed at least 4 week possibly 5 ,so where have I gained.
My bin was full ready for the cillecion that was subsequently missed. What do I now do with the waste I have ready to fill the bin again, take it to the tip??. Surely that defeats the object of using the garden refuse service. Pay us compensation not just extend the contract by a month as that is the easy way out for the council
I’m actually envious of those who have missed collections. I paid in July last year and still haven’t received my bin. When i chase I’m told there is a shortage of bins but not too worry, my subscription will be extended so I get a full year once I receive the bin. I’d rather have the money back and pay when the service is actually viable, rather than giving the council a tax free loan with no end date in sight….
The problem is that the operations managers currently running the system are mostly new, clueless and employed by senior management not because they are any good, but because they are ‘friends & associates’.
To make matters worse, senior management spend most of their time patting themselves on the back rather than good quality managing of the issues. Rather than looking at themselves they keep harping back to the farcical KC report that blamed anyone but them.
The latest bright idea is that they are hiring a senior person at the top who lives about 400 miles away !
You couldn’t make it up !