Lane Cove Council Waste Contractor Under the Microscope

    The Lane Cove Council’s waste contractor is URM.  This week, the URM depots at Five Dock and Cromer were the subject of a compliance check by the NSW Traffic
    Taskforce.

    A NSW Police media release issued yesterday stated:

    “Two trucks have been grounded, 23 defect notices have been issued, and 25 speed limiters were found to be non-compliant during an operation at a waste management company involved in a fatal crash in Dee Why last week.”

    Commander of the Traffic & Highway Patrol, Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy, said:

    “To find 23 mechanical defects and 25 out of 26 speed limiters non-compliant in one day at a single company is not good enough.”

    Last year, ITC wrote to the Lane Cove Council and advised that ITC followers were not impressed with URM’s service and asked if there had been an increase in breakdowns.  In December 2016 ITC posted the following:

    Something stinks and it could be your garbage. What is going on?? In the four years since In the Cove started we have never seen so many complaints about garbage. One roving reporter rang Lane Cove Council today to advise that their garbage had not been picked up and was told 3 of the trucks had broken down. Wow that is a high hit rate for vehicles off the road. Not good enough. In the summer months, you need the garbage to be collected regularly. The Lane Cove Council need to get on top of this.

    In January 2018, one of the garbage trucks was broken down in Alpha Street Lane Cove.  A break and hydraulic company were called in to fix the truck.  At the time, all ITC could think of, was how lucky this happened in the summer holidays and not during school term.

     

    One ITC follower was shocked to see a URM driver doing a U-Turn outside the Lane Cove Post Office.  It resulted in a No Stopping sign being hit.

     

    This is not an attack on the URM drivers.   ITC would not like to drive a garbage truck through some of the narrow streets of Lane Cove.  They do a good job in difficult circumstances.  Although ITC was a bit puzzled when we saw a driver turn left from Austin Street Lane Cove into River Road and then reverse down River Road and then turn back into Austin Street.  Cars coming up River Road would have trouble seeing a truck as visibility is limited due to a steep incline.   Surely drivers are not instructed to reverse along major roads.

    Let’s hope that the Lane Cove Council is monitoring the situation.  The Manly Daily reported that the Northern Beaches Council is reviewing more claims of garbage truck incidents.

    Garbage Truck Broken Down in Finlayson Street Lane Cove

     

    Do you have a local issue you would like help with? ITC is here to help just email us at [email protected]

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