A letter from Councillor Theobald was published in the Argus on 12 November. Firstly there was not a word of apology for the problems created by the council. Secondly, Councillor Theobald says that the council ‘anticipated a year ahead’ so why didn’t the council do something to prevent the problems rather than waiting for them to occur. Every aspect of services in Brighton is the same. North Street was dug up by the water company and now the council is widening the footpaths. Why wasn’t the work done at the same time. The answer to both issues is the incompetence of the council. Brighton Council couldn’t organise a party in a brewery!!

A Thorpe

This is the largest change that the council has probably made in very many years and when you change a system that involves 121,000 households then this will take time to bed in. The change has been made to make savings of about £1m per year following the opening of the waste transfer station at Hollingdean because vehicles no longer have to travel to Beddingham near Lewes. Consequently there has been a reduction in the number of crews to make the savings to which I have referred. Both management and the unions have done, and will be doing, everything possible to ensure all parts of the city have a collection that is on the correct day. I do want to emphasise that the vast majority of the city is working well.

I am of course sorry when crews have been unable to reach properties on the correct day and, as I have said, officers and the crews are all they can to achieve this as soon as possible.

GT

Why didn't the council plan the implementation of the new rubbish collection more carefully?

David Leadbitter

The council officers has spent many months planning the implementation, but putting the number of houses and streets into new daily collection rounds is a complex and mammoth task. Until you put the changes into effect you cannot be exactly sure that the crews can cover every property and street in the given time on the appropriate day - roads and properties will also be new to some of the crews. The vast majority of the city is working well. We just have a few parts of the city where crews are not reaching the appropriate properties on the due day. Some adjustment is going on with rounds to ensure that the whole city will have collections on the correct date as soon as possible.

I’m very sorry where residents have not had their collections on the correct day.

GT

Surely one consequence of the rise in last years council tax should be that any change in an essential service such as rubbish collection would be that it is integrated in a planned and smooth manner?

Sheila Walton

Last year city residents had the lowest council tax increase since the authority was formed and we are determined to keep down the level of council tax increases as much as possible. Every year our funding comes under more pressure and we need to find ways to make the council tax payers’ pound go further so we can try to avoid large rises in council tax.

Our changes to the rubbish collection and the introduction of communal bins in central Brighton and Hove will reduce the size of the workforce and the size of the fleet, resulting in annual savings of well over £1m. This saving represents more than a 15 per cent reduction in current recycling and collection costs.

GT

I know the dustmen have got new rounds and there can be hiccups when you start something new, but why have their been so many problems? Do they not know their way around the routes? Are the rounds too big? Just saying it is "teething problems" doesn't really mean very much. What are you doing to iron out the problems?

Colbert

The vast majority of the city is working well with few problems. It is just in a few places where there have been teething problems. We always knew that this would take a while to bed in. Many crews are collecting in new areas and it does take some time for them to get to know their new routes. Crews are doing their very best.

We are monitoring the rounds and are making adjustments when necessary to ensure that collections will take place on the correct day.

GT

Mid Sussex Council has got a great rubbish collection service. Why can't you follow some of its examples?

Patsy

I cannot comment on Mid Sussex District Council or the costs of their service. Mid Sussex is a largely rural area with far less populated towns and the amount of traffic is considerably less.

GT

I live on Baker Street adn don't receive any recycling collections. Can you tell me why that is? Also, when will the communal bins be installed? I think they are a great idea and very useful for our area

George

I agree, we have found that communal bins do make streets much cleaner. We anticipate bringing in communal bins in your area in spring 2009.

GT

Mr Theobold, how is the council going to cope when the agency staff working to clear the backlog of rubbish finish? Who is to blame for this shambles?

George, Hove

We are working towards no longer having a backlog - the service will settle down and we will not need the agency staff for backup. In actual fact, we have substantially reduced the amount of backup we are giving crews as the situation is improving.

GT

Dear Cllr Theobald,

I know some people don't like the green wheelie bins, but I personally prefer them. It makes things easier and encourages recycling.

In Mid-Sussex they also have a separate wheelie bin for true 'green' waste, i.e. grass cuttings, hedge trimmings etc. Has this been considered for Brighton and Hove? It would reduce cars on the road (through trips to the tip) and prevent people from putting 'green' waste in their landfill bins (which I'm sure they do at the moment).

Andrew

The wheelie bins in Brighton and Hove have proved to be popular but we’re not planning on introducing separate bins for ‘green’ waste. Instead, Brighton and Hove Council has preferred to issue subsidised home composters. Last year we had 8,000 homes requesting these and we supplied them. This is the most sustainable way of treating green waste in the city as no vehicles are needed to transport it anywhere. We do have an arrangement with Stanmer Organic to take away green waste that people cannot compost, i.e. tree branches. Go to the Brighton and Hove council website to find out more.

GT

I’d like to thank everyone for their questions and to ask those residents who have been adversely affected to bear with us, we are doing our best.

GT