“I love this job” – who would expect a man collecting our rubbish to say that?

As a councillor, rubbish collection is a major issue raised by residents. “They missed my bin!”, “they never clean up”, “there is always rubbish littering the street after they’ve been”.

So recently I went with two teams on a 'behind the scenes' trip.

I wanted to see what the challenges were in their job, and what might make it better?

The main difficulty is the abuse some of them have received from the public!

We demand no collections before 7am, but then it’s the school rush and the rush hour. Blocked roads and angry drivers result! But the teams work fast, moving door to door. They are trained to stay calm and walk away.

Separate teams handle black bin (general) rubbish and recycling (kitchen caddies and green bins).

If a kitchen liner splits en route to the lorry, they will sweep it up, but not if a fox has already done his worst - that is down to the street team.

We can use more than one liner a week to avoid this. Liners are available free of charge from libraries; ask for a new caddy if yours breaks.

Cllr Judy Dixey recently went on a 'behind the scenes' tip with VeoliaCllr Judy Dixey recently went on a 'behind the scenes' tip with Veolia (Image: Cllr Judy Dixey) From 2026, by law, every dwelling must recycle food waste; a challenge for Camden, with so many flats above shops in high streets and so many foxes.

Why did my friend “love the job”? Because he is out in all weathers and active; it’s his “gym”. His team is good, they get on with each other, and with a job, which is - mainly - satisfying.

The take-away from the trip is that the teams really are working hard for us.

The challenges are narrow streets, closely parked cars, but particularly the public and the anger and rudeness the teams face – perhaps not daily, but too often.

Performance is constantly monitored and problems checked up. If there is an issue, report it directly to Camden and Veolia, and come to your councillor if it persists and you don’t get a satisfactory response.

But if your rubbish collection is pretty good, do send in compliments and thanks.

I am very grateful to the Veolia and Camden teams who facilitated the trip, and to the loaders and drivers who took some time to chat briefly with me before carrying on with their really important work.

  • Judy Dixey is Liberal Democrat councillor for Belsize ward, Camden Council.