Many of the earlier waste PFI/PPP contracts included the whole range of facilities needed to manage the Authority's waste. Facilities such as Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) were included meaning that there is a direct physical interface between the Authority's Contractor and members of the public. Some contracts even integrated the collection service as well thereby greatly expanding the scope of the Contractor/public interface.
If the Contractor operates a Helpdesk for the public to call when the waste has not been collected the Authority should have a system to log the calls. It is suggested that the public initially phone a helpline manned by the Authority, whose operator logs the details of the call, before sharing with the Contractor, ideally in a simultaneous fashion. It is important for the Authority to obtain a true, real-time record of how the service is being managed.
Periodic customer satisfaction surveys could complement the above, and be carried out in the locality.