Sutton had the highest rate of bin collection complaints per 1,000 households in London during 2018, figures have revealed.
The borough’s council received 270 complaints per 1,000 homes last year, placing it sixth in the top 10 across the UK, BBC analysis has revealed.
And in 2017 a staggering 26,594 missed bin or waste collections were reported to the council, more than the previous three years combined, before dropping to 21,876 the following year.
No other local authority in the capital is in the top 10 list but Elmbridge in north Surrey ranks first with 411, while Surrey Heath trails in second with 373.
Figures obtained by the BBC also show councils across the UK received more than 1.8 million complaints about waste not being collected from households in 2018.
The analysed data, collected from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), found real terms spending on waste collection has decreased.
It dipped to £888 million in the year to March 2018 from £1 billion back in 2010/11 when accounting for inflation, a spending drop of 17 per cent.
Cllr Tim Crowley, the council’s opposition leader, believes the figures are “only the tip of the iceberg” and thinks the stats could be higher due to discrepancies in the council’s reporting functions.
He added: “The Lib Dem administration is not holding Veolia to account or to the standard they contractually say they will provide. We are still waiting on the performance statistics that they promised they would publish.
“It is unacceptable that, after two years, residents are still suffering from a poor service. These are no longer 'teething problems' - it is incompetence from the council to ensure services are run properly.”
Despite the BBC's analysis Cllr Manuel Abellan, chair of the council's environment and neighbourhood committee, insists the number of missed bin collections will drop in time.
He said: “When we introduced our new waste and recycling service we increased the number of collections from each home including food waste from almost 90,000 homes.
“In the first year of the service we did experience disruption and an increased number of missed collections.
“Working with our partners we now have a stable service that continues to improve and we anticipate the number of missed collections will continue to fall.”
He added: “We will continue to work with residents to improve waste and recycling collections in the borough to help keep Sutton a great place to live, work and raise a family.”
Cllr Abellan later referred to a letter sent to the council’s leader, Cllr Ruth Dombey, asking how it achieved a 50 per cent rate of recycling household waste two years ahead of schedule.
Dr Therese Coffey MP, Under Secretary of State for the Environment, praised the council after Sutton was declared London’s second “greenest” borough.
To see the BBC analysis, click here.
The number of missed bin collection complaints Sutton Council received between 2014 and 2018, according to the BBC's Freedom of Information request:
- 2014 - 6,348
- 2015 - 5,761
- 2016 - 4,995
- 2017 - 26,594
- 2018 - 21,876
Here are the areas in the UK with the highest rates of bin collection complaints, per 1,000 households, from 2018:
- Elmbridge - 411
- Surrey Heath - 373
- Wealden - 303
- Bath and North East Somerset - 292
- Broxtowe - 289
- Sutton - 270
- Thanet - 266
- Birmingham - 244
- Tameside 241
- West Oxfordshire - 229
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