'Frustration' over missed bin collections in Derby

Derby City Council says it recognises missed bin collections have caused frustration for some residents following the introduction of a food waste service.

The council previously announced the introduction of a food waste service, which began on March 31, after government legislation came into force.

According to the Labour-run authority, the introduction of the food waste service represented a "significant change" for Derby, and "as with any new service of this scale, there have been some initial challenges".

However, it said more than 90% of households had received a food waste collection, with 195.7 tonnes collected.

Ndukwe Onuoha, cabinet member for street pride, parks and leisure, said: "We recognise the frustration some residents have experienced with missed collections, particularly during the early stages of the new food waste service.

"Please be assured we are taking this seriously and working hard to resolve the issues."

The council said challenges had been "compounded by delays" in receiving its full fleet of new vehicles from the manufacturer, and added it had not had as many full crews available as it would have preferred, due to staff turnover.

Onuoha said: "I would like to reassure you that we are taking steps to catch up on missed collections and restore the service as quickly as possible.

"We've trained additional staff and have two additional council vehicles joining the food waste service from tomorrow.

"However, we are still operating with 10 hired vehicles, while supply chain issues continue. This is unfortunately out of our control, but be assured that we are doing everything we can to mitigate this.

"Where needed, priority will be given to food waste and black bins. This may mean temporary pauses to brown bin collections and residents may also see larger refuse collection vehicles being used for food waste collections. These still dispose of waste correctly and help maintain service continuity.

"We will continue to keep residents updated and thank you for your continued patience and support as we embed this important new service."

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