MISSED collections and poor street cleaning are costing the district's waste contractors thousands of pounds in lost income and councillors say something must be done to solve the problem.

South Herts Waste Management lost out on £3,900 from a dissatisfied Epping Forest Council in June and area manager Lee Mullins admitted losing out on such payments was hurting his firm.

Speaking at the last Waltham Abbey town council meeting he said: "We cannot withstand hits like that if we want to keep operating and that's why we are going to put the problems right.

"We want to work with councillors to discuss their concerns and look at ways of fixing any flaws in the system. We have to put this right."

District council leader John Knapman has organised two outings with contractors next week to assess operations on the front line.

He said: "There are some roads where bags look like they have been left for weeks. If I am noticing the problem, then so are residents. I am determined to make this contract work.

"Both sides have got an interest in making it work and I am looking forward to this opportunity to learn about the problems first hand."

Mr Knapman is set to join refuse collectors on a round on Wednesday morning, and go out with district street cleaning teams the following day.

He said: "You can learn the most on the chalk face. I want to get a better understanding of what these people do. What are the problems? Why are they missing a collection? Either they are not getting enough instruction from us or they are not taking the concerns on board."

Residents throughout the district have complained about the standard of the service, particularly the street-cleaning schedule which allows contractors leeway to clean only when they consider the area dirty, the deliberate blind eye to fly-tipping, poor communication over the discontinuation of blue bags for green waste and confusion over the collection timetable.

Mr Knapman will meet representatives from South Herts Waste Management after his excursions to discuss the way forward.