Report from Cllr Lynn Daniel – West Devon Borough Council

West Devon Borough Council September 2021 Report

1. Waste Collection Update

Due to the national driver shortage, we are continuing to see low levels of disruption to recycling services. The disruption has so far been isolated to recycling and food waste collections as refuse, clinical and garden waste collections have been prioritised.

Where recycling collections have not been completed on the scheduled day, they are recovered the following day where possible. If this is not possible, it is ensured that these households get a collection the following week and all recycling and food waste is collected.

The situation is being monitored through weekly meetings with the contractor’s management and daily updates on completion of rounds. Through working closely in recent weeks, numbers of missed collections reported have reduced and are now closer to expected levels.

There is still a backlog of recycling container and garden waste sack deliveries. The contractor is commissioning external resources to help resolve this and we will also be utilising localities and parking staff to help clear the backlog.

Currently, 25% of full time driver positions are vacant on the West Devon contract and are being backfilled with agency workers. Agency staff are also being used to back fill sickness and annual leave.

The higher than normal numbers of agency staff working on the rounds often results in higher levels of missed bins.

To help address this, the contractor has launched a national campaign to help recruit drivers and are also reviewing their pay and benefits to help ensure retention of existing drivers.

They are also working towards taking on suitable agency workers as full time employees wherever possible to aid retention of staff for the longer term.

The website, https://westdevon.gov.uk/8149, along with social media are still regularly updated so please refer to these for the latest information.

2. Councillors Locality Budget

I still have funds in my locality budget which available for me as your councillor to financially support local projects. Can I ask you to let me know of any project that may need some assistance to start up or continue?

I will email the application form and look forward to applications.

Cllr Lynn Daniel