The case has highlighted concerns over local waste collection procedures.
A Kingston resident has had her bin collection issues resolved after several months of back and forth with the provider, Veolia.
Natalie Bee, who has been living in Kingston for 13 years in a converted flat, said that Veolia failed to recognise that the property has two separate households. Both Bee and her neighbour pay council tax, and so should be entitled to two separate bins.
Bee also received letters from Veolia accusing her of “excessive waste” and referencing warning tags attached to the bin, although she claimed that she never saw any said notices.
Speaking with the Kingston Courier, Bee said: “The policy is that every residence is entitled to one black bin, so the council has complied with that. My neighbour and I both have a black bin. The issue is Veolia. Their staff are obviously incapable of realizing that if one bin is marked with a letter alongside the number and the other is just the number, there are two properties at the location.”
The issue started in October when Veolia sent Bee a letter claiming that food waste was found in her bin. She denied this, explaining that she always used the food waste disposal services provided.
Bee contacted Kingston Council for help, but said that no advice on how to proceed was given initially. A few weeks later, the council sent staff to empty both bins and check on them.
By this time, her bin had not been collected multiple times, which led her to try to contact both the council and Veolia repeatedly.
“Our bins are clearly marked, and yet Veolia still assumes we should only have one. The bin collectors don’t check the numbers properly; if they did, they would put them back in the correct place instead of me having to search for mine up the road,” she added.
A few weeks later both bins were emptied.
“About 15 minutes later, another employee came to our bins and checked them, then took photos. I’m guessing to prove they had emptied both. Hopefully the matter is sorted,” said Bee when asked about the latest updates.
Veolia said that they operate according to council policies and that they are not responsible for deciding bin allocations.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Veolia delivers essential recycling and waste collection services across the Royal Borough of Kingston on behalf of Kingston Council. Changes to bin allocation can be made when Veolia is instructed by the Council that a property’s waste capacity needs have changed, for example, in the case of conversion to flats.
“Residents can contact the council to request a capacity change, report a service issue, or seek further advice via the council’s webpages. We work in close partnership with the council to provide the best possible service for all residents and aim to respond quickly to any issues that are raised.”
A Kingston Council spokesperson said: “We work in partnership with our contractor Veolia to provide high quality services to residents. We have strong contract management processes in place and regularly review performance data to drive improvements in service. Properties that have been converted into Houses of Multiple Occupancy or flats can have additional bins or capacity as they are considered individual units rather than an entire property. We also consider additional capacity in particular cases, for example if there is a medical need which means extra waste is being produced.”
“We’re sorry to hear a resident is experiencing issues with their collections. When a house has been converted, the landlord needs to notify the council so the scheduling of rubbish and recycling collections is properly updated to reflect the individual units.”
Veolia said it was willing to investigate specific cases if provided with addresses.
