The saga of Brighton and Hove's rubbish contract goes on and on with no sign of a satisfactory resolution.

First Focsa had a go at clearing rubbish from Brighton and then it was Ecovert. Neither had much success.

There were high hopes of Sita when it won the combined contract for Brighton and Hove but the French firm proved to be a disaster.

Now Brighton and Hove City Council has been dealing with Serviceteam, which is expected to take over in the autumn.

But there have apparently been hitches with that contract too.

Two things are becoming clear from this series of problems, which has led to years of missed collections and dirty streets.

One is that firms, in their eagerness to land the contract, put in low bids which made it hard for them to operate within costs.

Any new contract which works is going to cost the council tax payers far more than before.

The other is that more consultation is needed with the staff who are going to operate the service so they have a good working relationship with the contractor.

Half the problems in the past have been caused by the fact refuse staff feel they have been put upon by managers who do not understand the peculiar difficulties of keeping the city clean.