Someone has made a cartoon of council leader Stephen Alambritis spewing garbage

Waste collection has been a hot button issue in the borough, with the most recent example being that an extraordinary meeting was held for the first time in 17 years to debate whether Veolia should be sacked.

The motion failed and the waste collectors were allowed to stay, which has angered Andy Turner, the man who commissioned the piece.

"Refuse collection is clearly just one service the council is responsible for, but it happens to be the only one absolutely every household and business depends on, and boy, has it fallen short," he said.

"The big, unanswered question is this: why isn’t Veolia delivering the service residents were promised?

"Is it because the contract is badly designed?

"Is it that Merton isn’t enforcing the terms? Or are the terms so uneconomically viable that Veolia can’t make any money? The whole thing is a fiasco."

In September last year, a report showed that on average, Veolia failed to collect nearly 1250 bins (not including garden waste) each month.

This was more than 16 times the target that Veolia has been set by the council of 75.

Mr Turner said that Cllr Alambritis "seems to inhabit a different world" and that he was "in complete denial about the problems."

"There’s this strong whiff of venality about the guy.

"I think of him like Pig-Pen from the Peanuts comic strip – always surrounded by this trail of muck – that’s why the #muckymerton campaign and hashtag is so apt.

"He regularly pumps out self-promoting propaganda on Twitter but never responds – unless it makes him or the council look great.

"And he never misses a ‘grip and grin’ photo opportunity. This kind of behaviour makes him such an easy character to parody."

Mr Turner said this wasn't a political issue, but that all residents are feeling the hit.

"I’ve heard some say it’s only Tory residents who are complaining," Mr Turner added.

"But clean streets and efficient rubbish collection are two of the few things that every single voter wants, regardless of political affiliation.

"So I think that’s a load of old rubbish. I expect voters will express their frustration when the next opportunity arises."

The council has been contacted for comment.