South Staffordshire council has said it is experiencing “operational delays” to its waste and recycling collections as 40% of its workforce is off, “predominantly due to Covid-19 related reasons”.
Waste collections in South Staffordshire have been delayed by staff having to self-isolate
In a statement yesterday (5 January) the council said there is a “backlog of collections”, which it also put down to bad weather last week.
The council told residents that if grey residual bins are not emptied on usual collection days, to leave them out the following day. The council added that it will be able to accept an additional two bags of waste at the side of the grey bins.
It added that if blue recycling bins were not emptied by 5pm yesterday, residents should take them in and wait until the next scheduled collection day in two weeks time.
Collections in the area are carried out by Biffa, under a contract signed in 2013.
Safety
The statement published on Facebook said: “We currently have over 40% of the workforce off, predominantly due to Covid-19 related reasons, including NHS requests to self-isolate through Test and Trace. Our crew and residents’ health and safety is of paramount importance, therefore we are working behind the scenes to safely clear as much waste and recycling as possible, and source additional staff to assist with operations”.
The statement added: “Please accept our apologies for any disruption, crews are working hard to complete as much work as possible on a considerably reduced workforce.”
The council also advised residents to visit household waste and recycling centres if they are unable to wait until their next collection days.
ESA
It comes as the Environmental Services Association (ESA) called for waste workers to be put in ‘priority vaccine groups’ due to concerns over staffing levels and disruption to waste services (see letsrecycle.com story).
Although waste sector representatives have said the sector remains well prepared, there are still concerns over staff reductions due to self isolation or positive test results.
The ESA also urged the government to ensure that frontline staff maintain access to childcare in the event of school closures, and that they are considered with the priority for vaccinations.
Executive director of the ESA, Jacob Hayler, added that the impact on staffing levels in the largest “variable and risk factor” to waste services.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
