Row Over Reduction In Merton's Weekly Street Cleaning

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Tories ask for weekly street sweeps to be retained

The weekly street clean of residential roads in Merton has been cut to fortnightly after the council agreed to join a multi-borough waste scheme.

General waste refuse collections in Merton have also been from weekly to fortnightly following a decision by the council.

The South London Waste Partnership (SLWP), which covers Merton, Sutton, Croydon and Kingston Councils, is using Veolia as the recommended preferred bidder to handle waste collection and street cleaning services across the four boroughs.  

Veolia started working in Merton this month, and will be continuing weekly food waste and recycling collections; paper and card being collected one week and glass, tins and plastics the next.

The total savings are expected to come to over £2 million each year for Merton as part of a wider savings package across the four south London boroughs.

But at a recent full council meeting, Councillors rejected a motion by Conservatives to look at alternative options to continue a weekly street sweep.

The Conservatives also revealed that Veolia will be employing 35 full-time equivalent street cleaners, compared with the 57 employed by Merton in April 2014.

Councillor Daniel Holden - Conservative Spokesman for Transport, Parking and Cleaner Streets - said: "First Labour want to scrap the weekly bin collection. Now they are binning the weekly street clean.  

“Residents want cleaner streets and we will continue pushing for alternatives that guarantee the weekly street sweep, preferably straight after the refuse collection.”

Merton Council cabinet member for street cleanliness Councillor Ross Garrod has previously said: "Working with our neighbouring boroughs to bring in Veolia and TLG will mean that we can deliver a good service while saving £2 million per year. Our funding from central government is continually decreasing so we need to find ways of saving money while still providing residents with services."

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April 28, 2017