Wandsworth residents are facing a waste collection crisis with missed pickups running at nearly three times the council’s target rate, while the borough’s recycling performance remains among London’s worst, a council scrutiny meeting heard this week.
Despite spending £22.8 million annually on waste services and having over a year to bed in its new collection system, Wandsworth continues to struggle with basic service delivery while Labour councillors mount increasingly defensive responses to mounting criticism.
The most damning statistics emerged [pdf] during Tuesday’s Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, where officials confirmed that missed rubbish collections are running at almost three times the council’s own target rate – a problem described as a “persistent pain point” that has plagued the borough since the introduction of a new waste contract in June 2024.
Conservative Councillor Jonathan Cook strongly criticised the service delivery, arguing that previous contract changes in 2012 had been “better managed and bedded down faster” than the current problems. He suggested the persistent issues reflected “poor implementation, not system complexity.”
The scale of the problem has prompted monthly performance reviews and financial penalties for contractor Serco, which has held the waste collection contract since 2012 under an agreement worth approximately £5.49 million annually (extended through March 2028). However, the council has refused to publish details of how much the company has been fined – leaving residents questioning whether enforcement is genuine or merely symbolic.
Recycling Rates Among London’s Worst
While Labour councillors celebrated an increase in recycling rates from 22% to 29%, Wandsworth remains firmly in the bottom tier of London boroughs. The borough recycles less than half the Mayor of London’s 50% target and falls well short of neighbouring authorities:
| Borough | Contractor | Recycling Rate (2024/25) | Collection Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wandsworth | Serco | ~29% | Separate trucks; mixed bags |
| Kingston | Veolia (SLWP) | ~49% | Multi-box source separation |
| Bexley | Countryside Partnerships (in-house + private) | ~52% | Highly structured box/bag system |
| Richmond | Serco (via joint contract with Wandsworth) | ~41% | Mixed recycling bags + food waste bin |
| London Avg. | — | ~33% | Mixed models (bin/bag/box) |
| UK Avg. | — | ~44% | Predominantly wheeled bins; co-mingled mix |
London’s average recycling rate remains well below the UK average, largely due to high-density housing, transient populations, and infrastructure constraints but this stark comparison highlights Wandsworth’s failure to learn from successful models operating just miles away.
Richmond and Wandsworth even share a joint waste contract with Serco, but Richmond’s recycling performance is significantly better, due to an earlier adoption of food waste, more consistent communications and greater use of reusable bags and caddies.
A Litany of Excuses
Rather than accepting responsibility, council officers and Labour councillors have produced a lengthy list of justifications for the poor performance:
- Claims that separate collection vehicles for different waste streams create “more complexity”
- Health and safety rules preventing manual lifting of wheeled bins
- Resident “confusion” about the new system
- Bags being “missed” when buried in wheelie bins
- Misreporting by residents who allegedly confuse rubbish with recycling collections
Council officer Cindy Gardner admitted that crews are prohibited from manually handling wheeled bins, leading to bags being left uncollected if they’re not easily visible – a policy residents see as “a flimsy excuse to dodge responsibility.”
What High-Performing Boroughs Do Differently
The contrast with successful boroughs is stark. Kingston and Bexley achieve their superior results through clear container systems that use separate boxes for paper, glass, and food rather than confusing bag-in-bin arrangements.
They invest heavily in proactive resident education through comprehensive communication campaigns and school outreach programs, while maintaining rigorous enforcement where non-compliance results in non-collection, creating strong incentives for proper sorting. Crucially, they maintain transparency through regular publication of collection and recycling statistics.
Bexley, London’s recycling champion at 52%, has maintained consistent performance through mandatory food and garden waste separation and intensive public education dating back to the early 2000s.
Key differences between us and better performing boroughs
| Area | Wandsworth | Kingston / Bexley |
|---|---|---|
| Bin Policy | Wheelie bins still common | Mostly banned for recycling |
| Resident Role | Passive (bags mixed in bins) | Active sorting (crates, caddies) |
| Education | Reactive, minimal signage | Proactive campaigns, school outreach |
| Collection Complexity | 3 separate crews (rubbish, rec, food) | Single-round multi-sort (Kingston); structured weekly rounds (Bexley) |
| Contractor Influence | Large-scale outsourcing (Serco) | In-house elements or smaller providers |
| Missed Collections | High post-2024 | Low and stable |
Beyond the official statistics, anecdotal evidence suggests more troubling practices. Multiple residents report collections being deliberately skipped after they complained about poor service, with one resident describing to Putney.news how they ended up in a “weird kind of vendetta” with the bin company after they reported repeat missed collections.
It escalated to the point where an anonymous complaint was filed and the council sent a fixed penalty notice to the resident for litter infringement along with a Notice of Intended Prosecution – a threat that was immediately dropped when the resident provided the council with evidence that Serco was responsible and that the ongoing issues had been repeatedly logged in the council’s own system.
Labour’s Defensive Response Angers Residents
Rather than acknowledging the scale of the problems, Labour councillors have adopted an increasingly defensive stance. The meeting heard how cabinet members have characterised the persistent collection failures as manageable issues, with the council leader previously describing the troubled rollout as a “huge logistical achievement.”
Councillors Graeme Henderson and Sarah Apps defended the performance, acknowledging problems while praising community officers for their “hands-on engagement with residents to improve compliance” – effectively shifting blame onto residents for the council’s service failures.
The Need for Fundamental Change
The evidence points to fundamental problems that require more than technical fixes:
- First, a change in attitude: The defensive posture from both councillors and officers alienates residents who expect prompt action, not elaborate justifications for poor performance.
- Second, transparent accountability: The council must publish comprehensive data on Serco’s fines and performance metrics, allowing public scrutiny of whether enforcement is effective.
- Third, learning from success: Rather than reinventing systems, Wandsworth should adopt proven practices from high-performing boroughs like Kingston and Bexley.
- Fourth, resident-focused solutions: Systems should be designed around what works for residents, not what’s convenient for contractors or creates impressive-sounding policy papers.
A Service in Crisis
At approximately £22.8 million annually – including £8.15 million for collection services under the Serco contract and £14.62 million for waste disposal – Wandsworth’s waste service represents one of the council’s largest budget commitments. Yet performance ranks among London’s poorest, with missed collections creating health hazards and recycling rates that shame the borough among its peers.
After more than a year of “bedding in” excuses and defensive political rhetoric, residents deserve better than a service that fails to meet basic standards while councillors blame everyone except themselves and their chosen contractor.
The time for excuses has passed. Wandsworth needs a waste service that works – and councillors willing to demand it rather than defend failure.
