Press Release from Buckinghamshire Council11 August 2021 |
Temporary changes to household waste collections – Chiltern and Wycombe areas only |
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From next Monday (16 Aug), Buckinghamshire Council will be collecting food waste as general rubbish for a month in the Chiltern and Wycombe areas only. This is because of a national shortage of HGV drivers and a small number of Covid-related cases meaning crews have had to self-isolate in line with Government guidelines. These factors have impacted waste collection services in the south of the county in recent weeks. As an interim measure, it means that between Monday 16 August and Friday 10 September until further notice, residents in Chiltern and Wycombe should throw their food waste away with their general rubbish (in the black bin). There will be no separate food waste collection during this period – the general rubbish will still be collected every two weeks. Collections in the rest of the county are unaffected. While the reasons for the disruption in Chiltern and Wycombe are beyond the Council’s control, our first concern is for our residents there and how we continue to provide a waste collection service in this challenging climate. Alongside the decision to temporarily collect food waste with general rubbish in Chiltern and Wycombe our contractors there are taking proactive measures to address the staff shortage, including incentivised recruitment packages and retention bonuses for staff. This is a temporary measure only. Peter Strachan is Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment. He said: “This is far from ideal but our overall priority has to be keeping our waste collection service going for residents in this really difficult climate. By collecting food waste as general rubbish for a month, our drivers will be able to collect all waste in fewer rounds while we suffer staff shortage. “I’m really sorry our customers in these areas are facing disruption and we hope that ultimately, this is a short-term issue. Please be assured we are all working very hard to address it. “Many other councils are experiencing similar problems as this situation is affecting many areas. I want to thank our customers for their support, patience and understand during this difficult period. I also want to thank our hard-working crews who are working in a challenging climate of staff shortages.” For more information please visit www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/bin-collection-recycling-and-waste/ Notes to Editor What’s changing between Monday 16 August – until further notice? · Food waste will be collected as general rubbish temporarily from Monday 16 August in Chiltern and Wycombe only. This means residents in these areas only should throw their food waste away with their general rubbish between Monday 16 Aug and Friday 10 Sept What should residents in Chiltern and Wycombe do with their food waste? ·Residents can put food waste in their general rubbish bin (black bin) during this suspension period ·If the black bin becomes full, residents can still put food waste into the outside brown food bin, for collection during the general rubbish week only ·Residents should not put their brown food bin out with the recycling bin – crews will not be able to pick up food waste on the recycling round · Please remember uncooked fruit and vegetable waste, eggshells and teabags are compostable so do make use of your compost bin space if you have one ·To get 50% off a new compost bin, visit https://www.recycleforbuckinghamshire.co.uk/reduce-your-waste/home-composting/ ·Please do not put food waste in your garden waste bin or recycling bin
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Temporary Changes to Waste Collection – Chiltern Area
