How can you trust Barnet Council when they can't tell the truth about litter and flytipping

I am speechless and enraged this morning. There is an article published yesterday in the Barnet Times in which Barnet Council claim that they were not made aware of flytipping in Goodwyn Avenue, NW7.

As you can see from this succession of twitter messages, they were first notified on 29th  December

If you are stupid enough to employ fly tippers in Mill Hill, and you are stupid enough to leave your phone bill in it, remember to tear off your number as well as your address @BarnetCouncil @MPSMillHill @MPSBarnet pic.twitter.com/58boe1oKTv

— A Better Mill Hill (@ABetterMillHill) December 29, 2018

For clarity, this is what Barnet Council told the local paper

As to the awful state of bin collections and the massive cock up the Council have made, they put out a press release on the 4th. You will be pleased to know that everything is now back to normal

We apologise for any delays in completing your recycling and waste collections. Collections are running half a day behind schedule in some areas.

This week we did have staffing shortages on Monday, and as a result a number of collections remained outstanding at the end of the day. We are prioritising any collections that were not completed in line with the revised festive period schedule and will then focus on carrying out the collections due today. Please put your bin out on your revised collection day this week and we will collect on this day or within 24 hours. We will be working later into the evenings and throughout the weekend to complete collections.
Next week, collection schedules return to normal. We have allocated additional resources and expect to carry out Monday collections as per normal schedule. You can check your correct collection day using the calendar sent to households in October 2018, or by using the bin collection date checker.
Remember – we will be collecting real Christmas trees between 6 January and 3 February 2019 if left out by your bin on your collection day.

Let me tell you a little story about what is going on. I was chatting to a customer on our industrial estate where my business is. Our bill was sitting there full to brimming. Most unexpectedly, a Barnet Council bin lorry appeared (it's not our normal day). The crew looked rather perplexed and asked us if they were at a specific location (which is a couple of miles away), in a different industrial estate. I said no, but looked it up on Google maps for them. I then asked if they could collect our rubbish, which they cheerfully obliged. They told me that the new rounds are a nightmare and they don't have a clue where half the places are. This is over two months since the rounds were introduced.

It is now clear to me that the whole issue has been mismanaged. In this day when we all have mobile phone apps to tell us where we are going, how can the council possibly have crews driving aimlessly around, being miles from where they should be?

Do you want to know what this chaos looks like?

@BarnetCouncil #disgusting #rats grey bins not been emptied in Finchley #notacceptable we pay council tax! pic.twitter.com/tufpVXcfgT

— Anna Davies (@annadtravel) January 8, 2019

@BarnetCouncil when do you fancy emptying our recycling bins? They’ve not been done since the week before Christmas and are full to the brim. We want to be environmentally friendly but it’s made difficult by an awful refuse collection service. pic.twitter.com/LqadlrDA22

— Brendan (@BrendanOG_95) January 8, 2019

Rubbish bags still there! @BarnetCouncil tend not to respond to twitter accounts that criticise them; but, perhaps they might listen to West Finchley ward Councillors. 8 bags of rubbish cleared up in Derby Avenue N12, left neatly by the bin, but will get kicked and torn if left! pic.twitter.com/HRAbTesAZZ

— IncludeourStreetsN12 (@IOSNTwelve) January 7, 2019

@BarnetCouncil @alan_s01 In case you need more evidence about the appalling bin situation, this is what I saw today in Cardrew Avenue. An absolute rat fest. pic.twitter.com/8woZlzznRY

— Lindsay Bamfield (@LindsayBamfield) January 8, 2019

The purpose of the bin reorganisation was allegedly to save money. Edgware Councillor Linda Freedman posted this update on the Edgware Families Facebook Group (a closed group - if you are an Edgware resident I suggest you join) web page today

Linda Freedman

Visual storyteller · 2 hrs

I have just received this from Barnet Head of Street Scene:
"Really sorry for all of the missed collections in your area.
We are having a much better week this week – we have deployed additional resources and are fully up to date with Monday and Tuesdays collections. We will have a full service operating tomorrow that will be capable of collection all of Thursdays work, along with any excess material that we didn’t collect last week."

It is good that Linda has bothered to post an update for her ward. I am intrigued by the promise of extra resources. I've emailed the CEO of Barnet Council to clarify what they areas this is clearly a matter of interest. Have they brought contractors in to sort the issue out? Whilst this would probably be a sensible short term plan to clear the backlog, it will destroy any savings and is a form of privatisation by the back door.

It seems to me that if the bin reorganisation was for cost savings, then we are in for a massive tax hike to pay to clear the mess up. This tweet reminds us of the Barnet Tories promises at the election in May

Welcome to Barnet.
This graphic will never get old. 🙃
Almost as bad as the big red bus lie. pic.twitter.com/qI68lfwqlX

— Adam Langleben (@adamlangleben) January 8, 2019

Can you trust the council? I'll leave you to decide