Kingston has been ranked as London’s dirtiest borough for 2023
Kingston Council has responded to concerns about cleanliness in the borough after renewing its waste management contract, commencing next year.
According to Freedom of Information requests obtained by Metro, there were 16,840 missed bin collections in Kingston Upon Thames last year, the most of any borough in Greater London in proportion to its population.
A spokesperson for the council said: “Keeping the streets and public spaces of the borough clean and pleasant for residents and visitors is a top priority.”
Waste management in the borough has been handled by Veolia since 2008, and in 2017, the company signed an eight-year contract for £209m with Kingston as part of the South London Waste Partnership together with Croydon, Sutton and Merton.
According to a Veolia spokesperson, the company undertakes an average of 390,600 bin collections in the borough per week, with 99.8% collected as scheduled.
They added: “Where missed collections do occur, we work hard to rectify them within two working days.”
In September, the council announced that it will reappoint Veolia for another eight years starting 1 April 2025 for the sum of £9.4m.
This follows Merton Council’s decision not to renew the contract due to “significant and ongoing concerns” over the quality of street cleaning.
Despite this, a representative for Kingston Council has defended the contract, saying that 99% of streets are maintained to an acceptable standard in line with DEFRA’s Code of Practice.
When asked how it plans on improving its services, a Veolia spokesperson said: “We look forward to building on the successes of our existing services to enhance recycling efforts, maintain cleaner streets, reduce carbon emissions and implement social value programmes that will benefit the local community.”
