Posted on 27th Mar
Newark and Sherwood District Council has suspended its recycling and garden waste (silver and brown) and bin collections because of the coronavirus crisis.
It said the move was to ensure collections of the critical waste (green/black bin) and medical waste could be prioritised.
A statement said: “We apologise sincerely for the inconvenience this will inevitably cause. The reduction of any service for residents is unfortunate but unavoidable in this instance due to the necessary social distancing measures for waste crews.
“Our cabins are just over two metres wide and normally seat three operatives when driving between rounds.
“In order for our staff to keep a safe distance from each other and help to reduce the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), it has been necessary to reorganise our operating model. There has also been a notable increase in recent weeks of soiled tissues being placed in recycling bins which contaminates the whole bin. In the current climate, this is putting our staff and other residents at increased potential health risk.
“By temporarily suspending collections of recycling and garden waste, NSDC can adhere to social distancing measures for its staff, help to keep them and residents safe, and still maintain the critical waste (green/black bin) collections. Waste crews are already going above and beyond in their duties and we all want to keep them as safe as possible.
“Temporarily, people should place their recycling waste in with their critical waste (green/black bin). Any residents who have subscribed to the garden waste collection service by 1st April 2020, will receive a reduced rate if they choose to continue with this service in 2021-22.
“We remain firmly committed to recycling efforts and to our Cleaner, Safer and Greener policy but, in theses unprecedented times, this action has been unavoidable.
“We will, of course, keep our operating model under review in line with social distancing measures and continue to explore alternative solutions where feasible. We will provide updates regularly and will take every measure we can to clear any backlogs of waste when the current advice is relaxed.
“Residents should continue to put their critical waste (green/black bin) out for collection on their normal days by 6am. We thank you for your cooperation.”
