A surge in complaints from south London residents is expected to lead to four councils, including Kingston's, to consider scrapping their waste collection contract.

Bin collection and street cleaning in Merton, Croydon, Sutton and Kingston has been operated by Veolia since 2017.

The councils work together on waste decisions as members of the South London Waste Partnership.

Merton Council has taken the first step by announcing it's set to drop Veolia when its current contract runs out in March 2025 before consulting with residents and commissioning a new contract to begin in April 2025.

The announcement comes eight months after the council issued Veolia with a Service Improvement Notice due to concerns over the quality of street cleaning in the borough, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Andrea Keys, partnership director for the South London Waste Partnership, said that "after taking all things into account, officers in the four partner boroughs have decided to recommend to their members that recommissioning the services would be in the boroughs' best interests".

Members of Merton Council's cabinet are expected to approve the recommendation to end the contract when it meets on October 10, it is yet to be seen whether Kingston council will follow suit.

A spokesperson for Veolia said: "Since the existing contract began in 2017, service requirements and the wider market have evolved substantially. 

"We look forward to reviewing new contract specifications when these are available and will respond accordingly in the new bidding process. In the meantime, we are committed to continuing to deliver the best quality services to residents until the completion of the contract in 2025."