Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Thanks for those who have contacted me.

There have been a few snags with the new recycling arrangements.

I have received the following from the Head of Waste Management at County Hall.

"I’m sorry to hear about the adverse comments from residents in your Division.

As you are aware, a new waste collection contract started on 31 July, with Hills Municipal Collections Ltd taking on the work.

Due to planning delays relating to their applications for an extension to their waste sorting operations near Calne (the applications are now all granted) we have had to move to an interim solution as they had not been able to construct the new operating depot they had planned to use before the contract start.

This has meant that we have agreed to move to an interim solution whereby Hills are now operating from council-owned depots until such time as the new facilities are available. In the case of the Riverway depot serving the west of the county, the necessary licence to allow the operation of vehicles from that site was not granted until after the contract start. Whilst this has since been resolved, Hills had to temporarily operate their new vehicles from two licenced highways depots during the first days of the contract, which unavoidably led to delays in some collections due to increased travelling time.

In addition, a new type of vehicle is being used on the contract which the transferring drivers are getting used to. These vehicles should ultimately prove to be more efficient and are crucially more manoeuvrable than their predecessors, but it will take a short while for the drivers to become accustomed to them. This has therefore contributed to the delays but is anticipated to be a short term issue.

We are holding daily update calls with the new provider to work through the issues, and can report the picture is now markedly improved over the first week of operation. I would also refer to the fact that the majority of collections have been undertaken on the scheduled day across the county.

I trust this will help you deal with enquiries from residents in your Division, and I apologise for the short term disruption."