Labour councillor, Stuart Collins, leader of Croydon’s “Clean Green” initiative, has defended the council’s decision to award controversial waste management company Veolia a new long-term contract.
In nearby Merton, Veolia have been criticised across social media by constituents who have highlighted problems with littering, uncollected bins and fly-tipping across the borough.
A change.org petition for weekly street cleaning to take place in Merton created on 7 November has reached 1,105 signatures.
Speaking at this week’s cabinet meeting, Cllr Collins said: “Let’s be positive about Croydon instead of running it down.
“If Veolia don’t respond, for the first time, they’re going to get clobbered with really heavy penalties because our monitoring officers are on it.”
Haydons Road 200 bus stop opposite Quicks Rd reported online #muckymerton @VeoliaUK @Merton_Council @RossGarrod @StarbuckGem pic.twitter.com/ML79c9ZoQK
— Eve’s DiamondBakeOff (@EvesBakeOff) December 5, 2017
The new deal, which begins on March 4, 2018, includes a set of tougher new performance targets.
The company, who began working with Croydon council in 2003, will be expected to clear 100% of fly-tips within 24 hours compared to the current rate of 87% in 48 hours.
There must also be no more than 30 missed bin collections per 100,000 properties instead of the current number of 90.
Also speaking at the Cabinet meeting, Conservative Councillor Tim Pollard said: “The reality is most people in the borough would say the fly-tipping problem is worse, not better.
“Nobody has told me that the streets are cleaner under Labour than they were under the Conservatives anywhere.”
As part of the contract, the frequency of waste collection in Croydon will not change.
There will remain weekly collections for food recycling, and fortnightly collections for black rubbish bins.
