Government

Veolia fined £10,000 for failing to meet targets

Waste management firm Veolia has been fined nearly £10,000 for failing to meet its annual recycling targets, according to a report published on Tuesday (18 December) by the Joint Governance Group for Basingstoke and Hart’s joint waste and recycling service.

The report, ‘Review of the Hart-Basingstoke Joint Waste Recycling Service’, shows that since Veolia took over a joint waste and recycling contract from a local team in October 2011, 192 offences have been reported, amounting to £9,600 in mandatory fines.

According to figures in the report, in Basingstoke, Veolia failed to meet its targets in bin collection, the percentage of household waste being recycled, reused or composted and the amount of residual waste collected, whilst in Hart, Veolia missed bins containing garden waste.

In addition to these notices, the report shows that local residents levelled a total of 178 complaints against the waste operator.

Veolia received 116 complaints from residents in Basingstoke, as well as 62 from those in Hart between October 2011 and October 2012.  This total is up from 23 in Basingstoke and 60 in Hart over the same period between 2010 and 2011.

Many of these complaints resulted from problems with ‘crew attitude’, particularly in Basingstoke, and collection teams ‘blocking access’ or failing to return bins.

Patricia Hughes, Corporate Director at the council, said: “Imposing these notices is standard practice for councils.

“Typical reasons why notices were imposed include residue waste, percentage of waste recycled and the number of missed bins. We are very pleased with how the contract is running, their attitude is a holistic approach.

“But we have to remain vigilant and keep the contractors on their toes. The notices can prevent small problems from turning into a big problem.”

The report also highlighted that since Basingstoke’s existing contract with Veolia came into effect, recycling rates in Basingstoke have increased by approximately 3.2 per cent from 23.3 per cent, while in Hart they have increased by one per cent, up from 38 per cent.

Substantial financial savings have also been reported as a result of the contract, with savings across both authorities totalling £1.65 million.

Read the ‘Review of the Hart-Basingstoke Joint Waste Recycling Service’ report.