Waltham Forest experienced a spike in missed bin collections in July, according to a recent report presented to the Scrutiny Coordinating Committee.
The increase was attributed to a combination of factors, including crew members taking holiday and vehicle reliability issues during the hot weather, according to the Corporate Impact Report presented at the Scrutiny Coordinating Committee meeting on Wednesday, 24 September 2025.
The report, which monitors the council's impact against its key priorities and challenges, noted that the number of missed bins per month increased in July, exceeding the service's target of no more than 779 missed collections out of 750,000 bins collected monthly.
Following the implementation of fortnightly black bin collections in March 2025, missed collections increased in April as rounds and crew compositions were adjusted. While missed collections decreased in May and June, July saw a rise due to staff holidays and vehicle issues during the heat.
The Recycling Team is working with FCC, the council's waste contractor, to improve service efficiency. Scheduled collections are monitored daily, missed collections are reviewed weekly and new staff receive detailed training to minimise missed collections.