Labour-run Milton Keynes Council has responded to Tory criticisms on the current waste collection 'crisis'.
The Milton Keynes Conservative Group has today (2/2) called out the Council for the "deepening crisis" surrounding waste services across the city.
Last month, MKFM revealed that two waste collection workers died after testing positive for COVID-19. The virus outbreak amongst staff meant 40% of workers were either off sick or self-isolating, and green bin collections were suspended as a result.
MK’s Deputy Director of Public Health, Oliver Mytton, has now been drafted in to review COVID-safety measures following the refuse workers' tragic deaths.
And looking at the waste situation, the low staff levels, coupled with recent icy road conditions, means households in various estates have seen week-long delays to waste collection.
The Conservative Group is calling on the Council to "get a grip of waste services", while the Council's Labour Leader has called the group's approach "shameless".
The Conservative Group wants answers to these five questions:
- How much time and resource went into protecting the wheelie bin pilot and what is the difference between service levels in the pilot area compared to the rest of the borough?
- What is the plan for getting green bin collections back up and running, and how much food and garden waste has been lost to landfill rather than sent for energy generation?
- What are the terms of the public health review into waste services and what is already being done to protect Serco and members of the public?
- How is the Council going to improve its communication to residents to minimise confusion and disruption in future?
- What consultation have they undertaken with the public to justify a permanent booking system for the tips?
Cllr Dan Gilbert, Conservative Environment Spokesperson, has questioned why the Council has continued with the wheelie bin pilot during the pandemic branding its leadership "terrible".
He added: "The thousands of MK households that have seen rubbish piling in the street will want to know why the Labour Cabinet stubbornly pushed ahead with its controversial waste trial when their focus should have been protecting essential services during the second wave."
But Milton Keynes Council has made it clear from the start that employee safety is its top priority, and has made sacrifices to services to ensure essential collection can continue.
Cllr Pete Marland, Leader of Milton Keynes Council, called the Conservatives' comments "utterly shameless".
He commented: "It is a tragedy that two Serco employees have lost their lives to Covid-19 and over the past couple of weeks our contractor has had up to 50% of bin men self-isolating, waiting for test results or ill.
"On top of that the snow, ice and cold weather meant that there were extra delays to collections last week."
Cllr Marland stressed that collections have returned to normal this week, but around 10% of households still have some disruption from a missed collection.
He continued: "The council are aiming to collect as much of the backlog as possible, but impacted residents have been asked to bring in their rubbish until their next normal bin day if they can, and should not pile rubbish into one area. We will also be putting on extra street cleaning to deal with any residual mess.
"The MK Conservatives' questions are a jumble of unrelated nonsense. I know their priority seems to be restarting garden waste collection - in the middle of winter - above the safety of workers. Their obsession [with] green bins is weird, but provides an insight into their political, rather than practical, priorities as hundreds a day die during a pandemic their government has criminally mishandled.”
