A WASTE company has had £150,000 deducted from payments in the last year for their inadequate service.

Southend Council’s waste contractor Veolia has had multiple reductions for not meeting performance standards, which can include missed collections, or targets based on waste and recycling collections and response to complaints.

The contract, worth about £9.5million a year, was rolled out in Southend last May but got off to a rocky start.

In June last year, the Echo reported how Veolia had fallen so far behind in some streets that rubbish sacks had not been collected for three weeks.

Gunn Hultin, 39, who lives in Lifstan Walk, in Southend, said he wasn’t surprised Veolia wasn’t meeting its targets, but didn’t blame the staff.

He said: “Sometimes the service is good and sometimes it is not – it is never consistent. As a resident, we should be getting a uniformed service so we know what to expect.

“My biggest gripe is the bin collections because sometimes they miss it. I think it would be better if the service was in-house and run with Southend Council employees.”

Residents also complained last summer of litter strewn all over the roads and smelly sacks as rubbish sat in the heat, with some collections not taking place until 10pm.

Daniel Oxlade, from Regency Green, in Southend, said that although collections have been fine recently, last year they were “shambolic”. The 42-year-old said: “Personally, our collections have been alright and on time for the last few months but there were lots of issues when it changed last year.

“It was shambolic, the collections were constantly late or not collected at all.”

A council spokesman said: “Approximately £150,000 has been deducted from payments to Veolia since April 2016. Over £100,000 of this was due to the roll out of the new collection service, which was acknowledged by both the council and Veolia as being problematic and causing unacceptable issues for local people. Since then the service and performance have improved and deductions have significantly reduced or not been applicable. We continue to monitor the contract closely and work hard with Veolia to ensure that the service is meeting the needs of the council and most importantly local people.”

Veolia were approached for comment but did not get back to the Echo.