COUNCIL bosses say 600 reports of missed collections have been made in the first week of the new waste and recycling scheme.

 

Last week changes to waste collection in Colchester were rolled out across the borough which will see a maximum of three black bags collected fortnightly, certain recycling on alternate weeks and food waste every week.

 

According to figures released by the council roughly 600 collections have been missed in the first week of the changes – out of the 240,000 different collections due to take place.

 

The council added only 20 official complaints about the new service which has seen some households .

 

New portfolio holder for waste Jessica Scott-Boutell (Lib Dem) said officers were working hard to ensure the transition went smoothly.

 

She said: “The majority of collections have taken place without any problems and I am grateful to the waste staff and collection crews who are working so hard to make this work.

 

“We are dedicated to completing a full transition to the new waste and recycling service as quickly and smoothly as possible.

 

“We have an extra crew working to mop-up areas of the borough as needed and we’ve increased the number of staff taking calls and answering emails to assist residents with their queries.

 

“As the new service becomes business as usual, we expect the number of calls and missed collection reports to fall and Colchester’s recycling rates to rise.”

 

Collection crews are using new technology to record where households have put out too many black bags or the wrong materials for recycling – but it is too soon to extract exact data.

 

The kit also allows council bosses to know where black bag exemptions have been granted and where assisted collections need to take place.

 

Colchester Council leader Paul Smith (Lib Dem) said he was confident the new system would ultimately lead to improved results.

 

He said: “I’m pleased to say the majority of households have embraced the new collection system.

 

“When making changes to a service as complex as waste and recycling for 80,000 homes, it is inevitably going to have a few teething problems and we are working through the issues as they arise.

 

“I encourage residents to use their new recycling calendar and look at the information on our website to ensure they’re putting the correct containers out on the right collection day.

 

“We’re on track to get the results that we set out to achieve, to increase the amount we recycle in Colchester and reduce the amount of non-recyclable rubbish that is sent to landfill.

 

“We will share some early performance figures as soon as possible.”

 

n Last week in a story about waste collection in Meanders Mews and Reed Walk in Colchester, The Gazette reported leftover bags would be collected.

 

This was in reference to bags in those specific streets where residents had erroneously put them in a large communal pile.

 

Residents will be expected to retrieve their own bags if more than three bags are left out.

 

We are happy to clarify this matter.