Questions have been raised over the effectiveness of Reading council’s free bulky waste collection service as residents have reported struggling to book the service.
A free removal service for bulky waste such as sofas, fridges and other large items was introduced by Reading Borough Council in May 2022.
But Rob White, the leader of the opposition on the council, has reported that residents have struggled to book the free service.
The X/Twitter account @ReadingClowncil has also reported being unable to book a free collection on multiple occasions, leading to questions about the accessibility of the service.
Raising a question at a full council meeting on Tuesday, February 27, councillor Rob White (Greens, Park) said: “Green Councillors have campaigned against fly-tipping in the town for some time.
“We were pleased when the council introduced the service.
READ MORE: How Reading free bulky waste collection service works
“However, unfortunately when residents bring this up on the doorstep and in my own personal experience it is very difficult to get a slot and you can try numerous times and still fail.
“Does the Council have any data on how many times people are trying to book this service and failing?”
Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey) lead councillor for environmental services, was unable to provide figures on missed collections.
She said: “Thank you for your party’s support of yet another Labour-led initiative to assist residents in this town, especially those with limited means around bulky waste removal and our efforts to reduce items that may be potentially fly-tipped.
“We are really pleased to provide any free service at all in such a financial climate. The service currently costs circa £250,000 per year and provides approximately 4,500 collections per year (18 per day).
“We have no captured statistics on numbers of failed booking attempts, but we do accept that a free service that provides 18 collections a day for approximately 180,000 residents in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis is going to be extremely popular.”
Cllr Rowland added that the service has to account for rule changes for removing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS) used in sofas and other upholstered items mean they have to be collected separately.
Continuing her answer, cllr Rowland said: “I am sorry that residents are having difficulties in booking, but with 4,500 bookings a year, equally, many residents are successful.
“The process in place is on a first come, first served basis which is the most equitable method we can have in place.”
READ MORE: Usage figures for free bulky waste collection service revealed
Cllr White asked how the service could be scaled up to limit unsuccessful bookings.
However, cllr Rowland replied that the council is unable to increase capacity for any free service.
Additionally, suggested that unwanted household items could be ‘freecycled’ by giving items to other people online or donated to charities.
Residents can also remove items themselves.
The council continues to operate a paid-for collection service which costs £52.50 for one to three items, or £50.40 each for fridge freezers.
There are concessionary prices for Your Reading Passport holders, with full pricing available on the council’s website.
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