Labour Refuses to Apologise for BinGate in North Hertfordshire

At last week’s full meeting of North Herts Council (2nd October 2025), the Labour administration came under fire for the chaotic rollout of the district’s new waste contract or BinGate as it is widely known. 

The Liberal Democrats tabled a motion highlighting the catalogue of failures since the scheme launched in August – failures which have left residents across the district angry, confused, and in many cases without regular bin collections. Among the problems raised were:

• Ongoing missed collections, even when repeatedly reported
• Crews unclear about assisted collections and narrow access rounds
• Blue-lid bins not delivered in time for the launch
• Customer Services overwhelmed and unable to cope
• Contradictory advice given to both residents and councillors
• Breakdowns in communal, commercial, and domestic collections

The Liberal Democrat motion demanded a full public apology to residents, parish and town councils, urgent action to fix broken IT and reporting systems, and stronger leadership of the Shared Waste Service with East Hertfordshire. But Labour councillors dismissed the concerns and voted down the motion – refusing to apologise for the mess or to accept any responsibility.

Liberal Democrat councillors accused the administration of complacency and poor leadership. 
Cllr Caroline McDonnell, who proposed the motion, said: “Customer Services have been completely overwhelmed. Residents deserve an apology- they deserve to know their frustrations have been heard and that lessons will be learned for the future.”

Cllr Ruth Brown, Leader of the Lib Dem Group, added: “It’s disappointing that serious problems haven’t  been resolved quickly - some remain after nine weeks. That is not good enough.“ 

Cllr Steve Jarvis said:”There have been too many problems and the resolution inadequate. The fact it was a complicated job is not an excuse. There is a need to learn from the very real mistakes that have badly affected residents.”