A move from weekly to fortnightly bin collections is on the way in Brighton and Hove – but not just yet.
Labour councillor Tim Rowkins said that the council’s rubbish and recycling service was improving but there was still not enough “resilience for when things are not going to plan”.
Councillor Rowkins made his comments at a meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet yesterday (Thursday 16 July).
The council’s cabinet member for environmental services and net zero said that the “unprecedented” record-breaking high temperatures last month had affected collections.
Rounds were cut short, he said, to ensure the crews, who have to wear specific personal protective equipment, were not working during the hottest part of the day.
And older vehicles had mechanical problems, including overheating hydraulics.
Councillor Rowkins, one of the council’s two deputy leaders, said: “That created a very significant backlog and it took too long to recover.
“This is obviously a very unusual example but it illustrates the point. We need to provide confidence to residents that when collections are missed, we can catch up in a reasonable timeframe.
“Specifically, we need to be able to assure residents that missed collections on a fortnightly regime will not mean a whole month between collections.”
He said that the proposals before the cabinet would add greater resilience to collections, including more crews on catch-up rounds, a management focus on operations and more cover for the workshop in the evenings.
Fellow Labour councillor Jacob Allen said that he had told his residents in Woodingdean that he was enthusiastic about the prospect of a £1.3 million investment to improve services.
Councillor Allen, the council’s cabinet member for customer services, the public realm and local government, said: “A significant portion of my ward has been getting a raw deal since early June and I’m the front man.
“People say to me, ‘it can’t carry on.’ And I agree with them. Then they say, ‘what are you going to do about it?’ And I say, ‘Councillor Rowkins is our top man. He’s on the ball and he’s going to improve the service.’”
The other deputy leader of the council, Jacob Taylor, said that people in his ward, Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, had raised rubbish and recycling bin collections at a public meeting.
He said that during the 2023 local elections, the topic was near the top of the list of issues that needed to be tackled.
The Labour councillor said that missed collections were an issue for a whole area, adding: “I am very supportive of the extra investment that Councillor Rowkins is proposing because we’ve got to get this service right.
