Quote Originally Posted by jon1959 View Post
F****g useless with the private contractor or the in-house? (You need another *)

In Sheffield the bin collection service was privatised (outsourced) in 2001. It was pretty good with the in-house service before; it has been pretty good under the private contractor Amey since. Both have had (rare) strikes.

Amey provide a cheaper service to the Council partly because they reduced terms and conditions for new starters after they won the contract. There are some 'bells and whistles' sweeteners in the deal for the Council, some economies of scale by the company (part of a massive conglomerate and now private equity owned), and some loss of public money into private dividends and executive salaries.

Amey also won the 25 year Streets Ahead road maintenance (plus verges and trees) Ł2bn contract in 2012 - so have their hands on most of the visible Council 'works' services - although not council home maintenance. I am not impressed with their highways work.

Mixed picture - but not a clear argument for privatisation of public services!
It's more to do with the frequency/limits/restriction etc. In parts of N.Wales some collections have become monthly. My son in Herts. has 3 large bins each of which are collected weekly. Accepted a better-off L.A. but that can't wholly account for the huge difference in service levels.