Windsor and Maidenhead missed bin collections 'disappointing'

A council has said it is "bitterly disappointed" by waste and recycling collections in its area as some residents have not had their rubbish removed for four weeks.

Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead apologised to residents and said it was "working hard" to improve the service.

It has also called for service provider Serco to take "immediate action".

Serco blamed "significant operational challenges" during the pandemic and said it had deployed additional crews.

Weekly collections had been due to resume in the borough on 17 August, following temporary fortnightly collections during the Covid-19 crisis.

Resident David Bonney said there had been "no bin collections, of any colour, in this bit of west Windsor".

"Green bin still sitting out there, unemptied, from last week," he added.

On Twitter, Ian McKenzie said: "'Weekly' bin service experience in Bourne Avenue, Windsor. Week of 24 August - refuse & food waste taken, recycling not collected. Week of August 31 - no bin collection whatsoever."

The council said: "The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead is bitterly disappointed in the waste and recycling collections service provided by Serco and is calling for immediate action to be taken."

David Coppinger, the authority's head of waste, said: "I know that the crews on the ground are working as hard as they can... I am urging their management team to look into the arrangements to make sure they provide the crews what they need to collect our residents' bins."

Katy Bassett, Serco's regional director for environmental services, said: "We have seen significant operational challenges during the Covid crisis, including a 41% increase in household waste and recycling at its peak."

She added: "We fully recognise the problems with this new service and are committed to making improvements; we had additional crews working in the borough over the weekend and are urgently working on a further improvement plan."