BROWN BIN COLLECTION SUSPENDED - YET AGAIN.

At a SHDC Executive meeting held last week the administration voted to continue the suspension of the brown bin collection until Spring 2022.

John Birch, a Totnes district councillor, says

" Many residents are more than disappointed with this continued suspension. In my view this is not only disappointing but also unacceptable. FCC, the council's waste collection contractor, has a contractual obligation to collect garden waste and yet is unable to do so. As FCC is unable to fulfil its obligation then, in my opinion, SHDC should seek to make alternative arrangements and deduct any additional costs from FCC's account.

However it seems the council's administration is not prepared to take immediate steps to bring about a change so as to restore a waste collection service that residents expect and deserve. This is wrong in my opinion as residents through their council tax are paying for a full waste collection service and yet this is not being delivered.

At a council meeting held last week FCC was called to explain its lack of performance. On being questioned it was unable to provide a date when it would be in a position to provide a full waste collection service. Earlier this year it stated a full service would be achieved by the end of the year. FCC is no longer prepared to stick to that date.

This, in my opinion, is just not acceptable and it is time immediate action was taken by SHDC to bring about a fully operational waste collection service. FCC has failed to deliver a proper service for over 6 months. This position should not continue.

The first step the council should take is make alternative arrangement for the collection of garden waste. This could be moved in-house and SHDC could work with town and parish councils in establishing an effective and efficient garden waste collection service in their area including local composting schemes. Such an alternative service should not result in any additional costs for residents as they are already paying for their brown bins to be collected through their council tax"