Garden waste collections have been suspended today, Friday 23rd July, due to a shortage of drivers and a sharp rise in the number of recycling and waste staff in self-isolation.
Councillor David Wood
Collections in several areas across the area have been missed this week and a suspension is in place to ensure the Environmental Services team can prioritise black bin and kerbside recycling routes.
In a statement, Bath & North East Somerset Council said it “is doing everything possible to reduce disruption to collections” but currently has ten members of staff either off sick or self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus or being in close contact with someone who has the virus.
Councillor David Wood, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Unfortunately, like many other authorities we have had to temporarily suspend some garden waste collections.
“Our teams are working incredibly hard to keep these services running, despite a national shortage of drivers and a rise in the number of staff having to self-isolate.
“This one-day suspension will help to reduce the disruption to the main services and allow us to get back on track more quickly. In the meantime, thank you for your patience and understanding in difficult circumstances.”
Residents whose scheduled collection day was Tuesday should have their garden waste collected by Friday.
Those whose collection day was either Wednesday or Thursday are being asked to leave their garden waste out for collection until the end of Saturday 24th July.
Any uncollected waste after that should be put out again on the next scheduled collection date.
Residents due to have their garden waste collected today, 23rd July, are being asked to retain their garden waste until their next scheduled collection
Once the situation is more stable, the council says it will contact all residents affected by missed garden waste collections to arrange extensions to their subscriptions.
