Garden waste collections in South Central Bedfordshire temporarily suspended
Wednesday, 21 July 2021
Due to severe staff shortages, there will be a temporary suspension for all kerbside collections of household garden waste across the South of Central Bedfordshire.
The collections will be suspended from today (21st July) for at least a week, so Central Bedfordshire Council and its waste contractor FCC can prioritise resources to maintain critical household waste collections such as clinical waste, residual waste (black bin) and dry recycling. This also means the we will not be able to collect the garden waste from the areas in the South that they were unable to collect earlier this week.
The situation will be kept under constant review.
There is a national shortage of qualified large vehicle drivers, this means there is a labour market pressure affecting the whole economy, not just waste services. An increase in staff needing to self-isolate due to COVID-19 is further compounding the issue.
During the break in service, garden waste can still be recycled at the Council’s four Household Waste Recycling Centres which are open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm, including Bank Holidays. Find out more and how to book tidy tip slot online.
Residents with enough space in their gardens are all encouraged to home compost their garden waste. Home composting is an excellent way to dispose and reuse garden waste.
Councillor Ian Dalgarno, Executive Member for Community Services said:
We are working closely with our contractor FCC to prioritise resources across the area and across different services as much as possible but unfortunately, we are experiencing staff shortages at similar level to the early part of the pandemic and have had to make the difficult decision to temporarily suspend garden waste collections in the South. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and ask residents to please bear with us at this difficult time.