Mayor delivers strongly-worded statement as Bryson boss apologises again for waste collection issues

THE Mayor, Councillor Leah Kirkpatrick has issued a hard-hitting statement on behalf of elected representatives and residents to the boss of Bryson Group, who again apologised in front of a full meeting of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borougy Council last week.

Senior officers from the Bryson Group, which manages the contract for 90,000 collections per week across the Borough, attended the meeting following an invitation from elected representatives to provide an update on the waste harmonisation project and waste service collection issues.

Residents have been complaining of issues with missed collections, a lack of assisted lifts, littering and mishandling of recycling boxes since the new scheme was rolled out to the legacy Antrim area back in September.

The system had already been in operation in Newtownabbey for some time and a majority of members of the new supercouncil, formed in 2015, voted to bring it to Antrim back in 2019, but the process was delayed by the covid pandemic.

The Mayor welcomed the senior officers to the meeting before reading out a strongly-worded statement that voiced the sentiments voiced during a Special Council Meeting held last week.

She said: “It is crucial for us to take this unique step of inviting a contractor to address the council, ensuring you hear directly from us as councillors, the concerns and frustrations of our residents about the waste collection services provided by Bryson.

“As the Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, I wish to present a statement that encapsulates the sentiments voiced during our Special Council meeting last week.

“Firstly, I want to acknowledge the significant role Bryson Recycling plays within the broader Bryson Group, a charitable organisation. Additionally, we recognise that Bryson Recycling is a key employer within our Borough, contributing to our local economy.

“Our council has fostered a productive partnership with Bryson Recycling for the past 20 years, which has enabled Antrim and Newtownabbey to achieve some of the highest recycling rates in Northern Ireland.

“Regrettably, this history of collaboration makes it all the more disappointing to address the recent failures in the waste and recycling collection services that have adversely affected our residents. Quite simply, the service has not met the required performance standards, and our residents have borne the brunt of these shortcomings.

“It is unacceptable that certain collections have been repeatedly missed, that our most vulnerable citizens have not received the agreed-upon assisted lifts, and that when collections have not been completed, the correct information regarding alternative arrangements has either not been provided or followed.

“Furthermore, on occasions when collections have taken place, we have seen litter and spillages left unaddressed, along with the mishandling of containers.

“Such issues have led to a significant erosion of trust among our residents, elected members, and council officers.

“Therefore, we seek clarity on why it seems the contract may not have been adequately resourced since the commencement of the new recycling collection service in the legacy Antrim area, and how this has negatively impacted collections in the legacy Newtownabbey area.

“Furthermore, we would like to understand why contingency planning was insufficient to avert the crisis encountered during your resourcing challenges in November, as well as the subsequent issues with service delivery before and after the adverse weather following Christmas.

“While we acknowledge the efforts of your staff in restoring waste collection services after adverse weather conditions, and appreciate your commitment to assigning additional resources to uphold service standards, we seek assurance that the appropriate levels of resourcing will be sustained. It is imperative for your organisation to consistently meet the contract requirements moving forward.

“Finally, can you outline your strategies and contingency measures to prevent any recurrence of the service failures experienced over the past few months?

“The elected members present in this chamber and our officers have put forth several actions that we believe could enhance the services provided by Bryson Recycling, helping to rebuild trust and restore confidence in the collection service. We encourage you to actively engage in discussions with our council officers regarding the adoption of these proposed actions.

“As agreed upon by both the council and Bryson Recycling, the current level of service delivery has not met the established standards. I now invite you to respond to the issues raised in this statement.”

Following the Mayor’s address, Bryson Group CEO Shane Logan acknowledged and apologised for the recent levels of service which he recognised were ‘short of the service the council expects and has known for many years’.

He continued by addressing the factors which led to the service issues and explained to the ‘strategic measures’ which have been put in place to address the compounding issues and also their plans for longer-term improvements.

He highlighted as well as the normal teething problems experienced with the introduction of any new service, Bryson were also faced with a number of additional problems which included, driver shortages, a spike in illness early December and inclement weather conditions.

At one point he said that the roll-out of the wheelie box recycling scheme to Antrim should have occurred in May 2025, not September, but due to issues beyond council and Bryson’s control, the required vehicles had not been delivered on time.

Mr Logan also said that as part of mitigation efforts, managers at Bryson had been driving collection vehicles in a bid to make up the backlog -but that had caused subsequent problems with logistics.

He also assured elected representatives that a recovery plan which addressed recruitment and training, a CEO War Room, enhanced communications and door to door visits, had significantly addressed the issues, and as of 19 January the backlog had been cleared.

He agreed that moving forward, there were ‘many valuable lessons to be learned’ and that the Bryson Group had put additional measures in place which included, strengthening its communications with the council, increasing contingency thresholds particularly during the winter period, conducting regular reviews at CEO level, and providing HGV training to trainees from its Bryson Pathways programme, aimed ‘to significantly reduce the risk of a future recurrence’.

He added: “We know how painful this has been for you as a council and the effect it has had on your constituents, and we want to acknowledge that it has also been a deeply challenging experience for us.”

“We remain completely committed to doing our absolute best to serve you.”

“The delays and subsequent roll-out of the Wheelie Box system in autumn/winter led to initial teething problems for all.” he said.

“However, the key issues which impacted on recent collections were a shortage of trained HGV vehicle drivers (a UK-wide issue); an unprecedented spike in staff illness in December; and the adverse weather conditions at the start of January.”

Addressing the recovery plan agreed with the council, Mr Logan reiterated Bryson’s focus on resource and enhanced communication, which is Director-led: “We doubled recruitment and training, drafted additional staff to improve quality, appointed on the ground teams to deal directly with complaints, and our senior team made in-person visits to around 200 residents who were most affected over the period of disruption.

“Since 19 January the backlog has been cleared and the few collections missed on planned collection days are routinely cleared the following morning.”

Going forward, he committed to ‘reviewing all plans to drive further improvement, enhancing communications with the council, and to over-resourcing particularly over winter months’.

As part of its wider charitable status, and to address the market shortage issue, 12 trainees from Bryson Pathways have accepted work placements and have already started HGV training.

Referencing Bryson’s longstanding relationship with the council, including over 22 years of service, Mr Logan added: “I’m sorry for the circumstances that have led to my participation tonight. We know this has been painful for the council and those you represent.

“Our recycling operation is based in your Borough; we employ over 160 staff from the Antrim and Newtownabbey area and together we lead best practice in recycling in Northern Ireland. By extending ‘Kerbsort’ recycling into Antrim, you’re on course to achieve world-class levels of recycling and cost savings.

“It is also important that you are aware of our wider responsibilities and our contribution as part of the Bryson Charitable Group which is 120 years old with over 1000 staff.

“Every pound generated through our collection services is reinvested in the charity to help those in greatest need.

“In your council area alone, we’ve supported over 1,000 of your lowest income households with emergency financial and other relief; we’ve enabled 40 long term unemployed to find jobs; and we’ve worked with 64 of your most deprived young people providing them with full time education to maximise their potential.

“We’ve worked effectively with Antrim & Newtownabbey Council for over 22 years including through covid when services dropped for only two days.

“We remain completely committed to doing our absolute best to serve you, delivering the high standards that the ratepayers in Antrim and Newtownabbey expect and deserve.”

Mr Logan said that the borough was on course to rival Wales and Austria for being world-class in terms of recycling rates.

However, Mr Logan advised of potential ongoing problems such as sickness or blocked access to cul-de-sacs.

He noted that severe weather could impact service and two or three days in a row of snow or ice had a knock-on effect, with two to three weeks required for services to recover.

“We will continue to over-resource and set our contingency thresholds higher. Our aim is not to be just very good, our aim is to be outstanding. That is where we want to go.” he said.

Following the address, elected representatives had the opportunity to ask questions regarding the ongoing concerns, the recovery plan, and the future.

However this part of the meeting was held ‘in confidence’, with the press and public asked to leave the chamber.

They were not invited back in for the remainder of the item, with the vast majority of the lengthy discussion taking place behind closed doors.

Speaking after the meeting, Sinn Fein Airport Councillor Anne Marie Logue said: “At the meeting, I raised the ongoing concerns of residents across Antrim and Newtownabbey regarding missed waste collections and inconsistent service delivery.

“The CEO of Bryson was asked to clarify current performance, the causes of disruption, and most importantly , what practical improvements residents can expect and when.

“It is clear that many ratepayers remain frustrated, and that confidence in the service has been affected. I have sought assurances that clear actions are being taken and that the council will receive transparent performance information going forward.

“I will continue to press for accountability, improved communication, and a reliable waste collection service that meets the standards residents rightly expect for their rates.”

In a statement, a council spokesperson said “We value the opportunity to have senior officers from the Bryson Group in attendance at tonight’s meeting to address the ongoing concerns of our constituents regarding the waste collection issues.

“While service levels are not fully restored, we are seeing improvements across the Borough which we trust will continue until the high standard of service level is fully restored.

“We appreciate that whilst not everything is in our control we must now ensure that measures are in place to mitigate the risk of this happening again in the future.

“While we are content with the recovery plan and future improvements as laid out by the Bryson Group, the Council will continue to monitor and stringently manage all aspects of this waste contract and recovery plan until the previous high standard of service from Bryson Recycling is resumed.

“We would like to sincerely thank the residents of our Borough for their patience and understanding during this challenging time.”