Major shakeup of ailing refuse service planned (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Major shakeup of ailing refuse service planned

Coun Sylvia Doubell at the wheel of a refuse truck (17501/04)EMPLOYING extra binmen, revising collection rounds and staff bonuses could hold the key to bucking up North Wiltshire's ailing refuse service, it has been admitted this week.

Major changes are needed to bring the service up to scratch, with the number one priority being a review of binmen's rounds, says a report due to be approved by the council's executive committee tonight.

Taking on new staff and using bonuses as incentives to staff to work more quickly and to avoid calling in sick are also being considered.

The district council's lead member Sylvia Doubell said: "It's a daunting challenge but we are all up for it. It's not my intention to let it fail."

An in-house review concluded the service was 'fair' according to Audit Commission standards, but had plenty room for improvement.

Problems included failing to collect rubbish and empty litter bins on a consistent basis, overworked staff, stretched resources and weak organisation.

Coun Doubell said the review was a critical but honest look at all aspects of the service.

"It was picked to pieces," she said. "There is no point in deceiving or cheating ourselves. The men acknowledge there are faults and are keen to move forward.

"They do a job nobody else wants to do and if they didn't we'd be in a terrible state.

"What we don't want them to think is that their jobs are on the line.

"We've never threatened them with that and there is no evidence to suggest that privatisation would be cheaper."

Steve Bowcock, operations manager at the council's Parsonage Way depot, said: "The way we currently collect the rubbish is creaking at the seams.

"Wheelie bins take longer to empty and the lorries need to be bigger. We've got 1,500 new properties with no extra men or rounds. We are struggling.

"One third of the council's workforce is employed at the depot. We are the only frontline service, where people see us out and about regularly. Our service needs to be right."

One solution could be asking staff to do two jobs at once for example refuse collectors emptying litter bins in rural villages.

"If they are out there and passing once a week then why not? It makes sense," said Coun Doubell.

"In return we could offer staff bonuses. It would act as an incentive not to call in sick or to finish their rounds on time.

"What we've got is a realistic programme of improvements and we've set up a review board to deal with them.

"We've taken the service to pieces and now it's time to build it back up again the way we want it."

The review board, headed by a manager costing £80,000, is to implement the changes within the next two years.

Coun Doubell emphasised the service's triumphs, including kerbside recycling for 98 per cent of households, which has massively reduced the rubbish going to landfill.

Three new refuse trucks costing £125,000 each are already in place this year, with plans for a further two at Christmas and two a year after that.

She added refuse collection costs each household just £34.74 a year, lower than many other councils.