East Hampshire District Council’s Leader, Councillor Richard Millard, has welcomed the huge strides made by EHDC’s waste collection team in improving the service over the past two years.
New figures show our bin collections have improved in all aspects and are now running at, or even above, industry benchmarks.
Cllr Millard said: “In 2023 I felt I needed to make a public apology about the quality of our bin collection service. I acknowledged it was not good enough and I promised that we would put every effort into putting it back on track.
“Now I am delighted to say that the number of uncollected bins being reported by residents has been slashed and the service is reliable and efficient.
“Waste collection is one of the fundamental services a district council provides, so it is only right that people expect it to be excellent. We had to accept that it had fallen below the required standards in previous years and do everything we can to turn that around.
“I am delighted to see the number of reported missed bins falling for all the materials we collect, from refuse to recycling and from glass to garden waste.
“We now have a service we can be proud of and one that stands up well in comparison to any other waste collection service in the region.”
Every month the waste collection crews empty more than 400,000 bins of varying types across the district. The rural nature of East Hampshire means crews have to clock up more miles, on difficult country roads, than their urban counterparts, meaning vehicles suffer more wear and tear.
So, keeping the fleet on the road was a major issue. We have fixed that by sorting out vehicle maintenance, adding more vehicles to the fleet and switching to hired vehicles, which can be quickly replaced following breakdowns.
Many of the 55,000 households in East Hampshire have their own unique or hard-to-reach access, whether that’s isolated homes or hidden driveways. That means local knowledge is vital to the job. We reduced our reliance on agency staff by hiring permanent crews who can build up the local knowledge required to reach every quirky corner of their route.
As a result of these actions the number of missed bins per 100,000 collected has dropped from over 200 in April 2024 to less than 75 in September 2025.
Cllr Andy Tree, EHDC Deputy Leader, said: “Since 2023, I’ve seen first-hand the effort and dedication that’s gone into turning our waste collection service around.
“Public complaints have dropped significantly, and I’m proud to have played a part in supporting that improvement. Huge thanks go to our EHDC officers and waste crews whose hard work has made this transformation possible.”