Garden waste collections stopped due to staff shortages

Charwood Borough Council has said it cannot collect garden waste bins for two weeks because of staff shortages.

"We are having to pause the Council’s garden waste collection service for two weeks due to staff shortages.

We have also had to cancel bulky waste item collections for today (Monday, October 26).

We apologise for any inconvenience."

The services are operated by the Council’s waste partner Serco and a small number of staff have tested positive for Covid-19 and a number of employees are also having to isolate. This has impacted the service. Resources are being diverted to ensure the refuse and recycling services can continue.

Cancelling the garden waste service for two weeks will allow time for crews to return.

Matt Bradford, head of cleansing and open spaces, said: “We appreciate this is inconvenient for people but the health and wellbeing of employees and customers are paramount. We will be reviewing the situation on a daily basis.

“Once a few days of garden waste collections have been missed it is very difficult to catch up and therefore it is sensible to cancel collections for the two-week period which also means the collection cycle will be able to carry on as usual.

“We will continue to work closely with Serco who have already put in a number of measures to keep their employees safe.

“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience but these are clearly very difficult circumstances at the moment and we hope the support they have shown for the refuse and recycling crews continues. They are one of our key frontline services and have continued to operate and serve the public since the start of the pandemic.”

What you need to do

Bulky waste

• If you have booked a bulky waste collection for today (Monday October 26), please take your item back in and we will be in touch shortly about collecting it. If you wish to opt for a refund, then we will also arrange that.
• Bookings for bulky waste collections are currently suspended

Garden waste

• If your garden waste is due to be collected this week or next week (October 26-November 6) please DO NOT put your garden waste bin out.
• If you cannot wait until your next collection, you can dispose of garden waste at a tip. Book an appointment by visiting the Leicestershire County Council website