Residents who pay £65 per year to have their garden waste collected are gradually finding out that the service for which they have paid has been suspended. Croydon Council hasn’t gone out of its way to inform residents that their bins will not be emptied – instead a brief message was put on the Council’s website on 6th January in a place that few would know to look and I added this information to the ward website for the benefit of local residents. There is no indication as to whether the service suspension will be measured in weeks or months.
Everyone understands that organisations are experiencing problems with staffing due to sickness and/or the need for some to self-isolate. It is understandable that general waste and food waste would be prioritised ahead of garden waste. However, this does not detract from the point that residents who pay for the garden waste service have entered into a contract with Croydon Council and Veolia to receive “26 fortnightly collections of garden waste over a 12-month period.”
The Council Director responsible for waste management informed me that that no decisions have been made with regards to refunds. Meanwhile the Council’s customer-facing ‘Contact Croydon’ social media account is telling those who ask about refunds that “the terms and conditions you agreed to when joining the service state we do not offer refunds for the garden waste service” which would normally be correct if it was the resident changing their mind about the service rather than the Council choosing to not provide the 26 fortnightly collections over a 12 month period as contractually agreed. It should be noted that the contract also indicates that notices regarding changes in service should be notified via letter, email or fax with no indication that residents are obliged to search for such information on the Council’s website.
Taking residents’ money for a service that used to be free and then not actually delivering the service is poor form, even for this Labour Council. Attempting to wriggle out of paying refunds threatens the future of the service as residents may no longer trust that the amenity will be provided when they are asked to pay again for the service later in the Spring. This is short-sighted in terms of encouraging flytipping and, at a time of extreme financial pressure for the Council, will threaten one of the few income streams within the waste management department.”
Whilst there is no indication of when garden waste services will resume, it is expected that updates will be provided on this Council page:
https://new.croydon.gov.uk/rubbish-and-recycling/garden-waste
My original post from January 6th can be found here:
https://www.croydonconservatives.com/news/green-waste-collection-suspended
In the meantime, do continue to leave you garden waste out for collection so that it can be collected if/when the service is reinstated.
