Cheltenham Borough Councillor Roger Whyborn on waste collection cancellations in the snow
WHEN Ubico, which is responsible for collecting waste in Cheltenham, cancelled collections as a result of inches-deep snow last month, there was outrage. Councillor Roger Whyborn, the cabinet member at Cheltenham Borough Council responsible for the collections, responds to the criticism.
I appreciate the dissatisfaction shown by the public and we are sorry that we were unable to provide the level of service expected.
This was the first major bad weather disruption since the waste collection service went to alternate weekly collections of bin waste and recycling, with separate weekly food waste collections.
A lot of people complained about how long they had to wait for a collection, and about the way the council communicated its messages.
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I have ordered a review of what happened and the decisions made so we can identify what lessons need to be learnt and what further procedures should be put in place.
The decision to suspend collections while snow and ice were on the ground has been criticised by some, but in truth, nobody else is trying to send heavy lorries down icy side streets, or haul wheelie bins and boxes across icy pavements.
Comparisons with Tesco vans and the postal delivery do not hold up.
There has been criticism of Ubico, the contractor, but it has my unqualified backing in this decision.
Ubico is jointly owned by Cheltenham and Cotswold councils, and it is the same staff and managers who run Cheltenham's waste service as when they were directly employed by the borough council. Changing the contractor has not affected the service.
Other decisions – which were taken mainly by the council – were more finely balanced, especially the decision to suspend collections until the end of week ending January 25, and about how we should catch up from the stoppage. Contrary to the armchair advice which some people freely gave, catching up by throwing money at the problem wasn't an option; even if you could afford it, the extra vehicles and crews simply aren't there, when other councils are trying to do the same.
The crews 'banked' their hours in the stoppage, and worked long shifts to catch up, giving an advantage over councils who didn't.
The thaw on the Thursday, January 24, was not forecast by the Met Office, but as it was, a lot of effort was put into clearing accumulations of black bags off certain streets, and clearing backlogs at flats.
Lessons will need to be learnt. With 53,000 households in the town, it would be wrong to promise that everybody can have everything they expect. But the council, which has a very good track record on waste collection and recycling, will do all that can be done to improve the service in the future.
5 Comments
by Hubert1841
Friday, February 15 2013, 4:13AM
“They ought to parade this shyster through the streets of Cheltenham, and allow the rightfully aggrieved locals to pelt him with their uncollected rubbish, and then force him to clear it up with a bucket and a spade.”
by not2badta
Wednesday, February 13 2013, 6:01PM
“Very poor excuse, I live in Cheltenham but work in Gloucester and i can honestly say the roads and pavements were no better there yet those bins were still being emptied during the week of the snow in the very same big lorries Cheltenham council use. I take it Ubico does not have the contract in Gloucester. I have no idea if any of the Gloucester crew had mishaps during this period which could be put down to snow and ice other than the usual hazards of the job, perhaps Mr Whyborn should contact his countpart in Gloucester and find out just how they managed to cope when his guys couldn't.”
by buffersyeoman
Wednesday, February 13 2013, 10:43AM
“I am sorry Roger Whyborn but your very pathetic excuse does not hold up either!!!
I sincerely hope that you and yours never need the use of our emergency services when we have a sprinkling of snow on the ground.
Someone within your authority made a badly judged decision and now you are trying to defend it, if that was the right decision, then what lessons are there to be learned !?
And can I add that some criticism leveled at the council was not given by those in armchairs, but by those who were out there going about their normal daily tasks!!, I suppose that you Mr Whyborn walked to work during this period, or was your area like most, clear of snow!!
I wonder how you would have defended this decision if Ubico was not partly owned by CBC??”
by AndyPrestbury
Wednesday, February 13 2013, 10:18AM
“"Contrary to the armchair advice which some people freely gave...", well that's a way of saying "shut up you lot you don't know what you are talking about". Do not treat your customers with contempt just because we are asking tough questions - we have to ask them because we cannot change our service provider as you are a monopoly. As councillors you do need to listen to your customers, and take it on the chin whether you think we are stupid or not.
What many people were saying was how come, for example, home delivery services were able to reach houses without a problem but Ubico couldn't. At least you are now admitting that Ubico is really part of CBC instead of saying it is out of the council's control control but the contractor's decision. If Ubico were a truly independant company that had to bid for our money through a competative tendering process then maybe more commercial pressure could be applied.”
by Flat-Broke Films Ltd
Wednesday, February 13 2013, 10:03AM
“There were very angry scenes in Up Hatherley in particular, Cllr Whyborn's own Ward, when the expected return of the bin men at the end of January occurred on the day before the normal Thursday collection day thus many residents missed out on having their refuse collected and had to wait a further 7 days. Generally speaking information about what was happening or not was very poor, and lessons need to be learnt.”