Croydon (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Veolia has defended its handling of Croydon waste services after reports emerged of households facing over seven weeks of missed bin collections.
Shirley residents claimed that after waste management provider Veolia neglected to collect their trash cans, the neighborhood was filled with the “persistent smell of decay.”
In October of last year, Croydon Council declared that it was renewing its eight-year agreement with the garbage company.
Commencing on April 1, 2025, the contract has a value of £21.5 million.
A spokesperson for the company told letsrecycle.com:
“We would like to apologise to the small number of residents in Croydon who are experiencing delays to their collection services.
We know that a reliable service is extremely important and our dedicated teams are working hard to ensure everything is collected on time.
As part of the new contract, we had to re-route all kerbside collections. The change will make the service more efficient, but in the short term this has unfortunately led to some missed collections.”
Utilizing sensor-equipped bins that track identifying chips and fill levels, Veolia feeds data into computer systems that dynamically optimize routes and collection schedules. This enables improved trash flow control and minimizes needless travel and missed collections.
Voice-guided route instructions are one example of a technology that helps drivers focus better and make fewer mistakes. This helps rookie drivers in particular to follow routes precisely and avoid missing lifts.
Some have criticised the council’s decision to retain Veolia as its waste provider.
Labour’s Croydon mayoral candidate Rowenna Davis told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS):
“It is just so shockingly disappointing because there are millions and millions of pounds of public money going to this company.”
According to the trash management firm, 99.5% of the more than 1.25 million collections it made in April 2025 were done on schedule.
According to the company, it removed 190 fly-tips on average every day.
A custom nighttime service has been implemented as part of the new contract to make Croydon’s streets cleaner.
Overnight in April, 180 tonnes of fly-tipped garbage were removed.
The Veolia spokesperson continued that they would like to thank residents for their patience during this period of adjustment and ask them to continue reporting any collection or fly-tipping issues via Croydon council’s website so we can respond swiftly.
A request for feedback from Croydon Council was not answered.
What measures is Veolia taking to prevent future missed collections in Croydon?
Veolia uses real-time data on bin capacity and vehicle geolocation to design optimized garbage collection plans that increase efficiency, minimize missed pickups, and shorten routes.
Veolia and local councils have agreed to send additional garbage collection trucks and workers specifically tasked with picking up lost bins in areas that are disrupted. For instance, in order to better manage complaints and coordination, Buckinghamshire expanded its customer service team and added up to ten additional vehicles.
In order to ensure that neglected properties are not overlooked, supervisors are stationed on the road to react promptly to problems, and staff receive thorough morning and evening briefings to identify and handle problem areas.
To avoid early round terminations, extra garden waste vehicles are scheduled to take over in the event that normal vehicles fill up before finishing their rounds.