Garden waste collections resume later this month, Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) confirmed this week.
They restart from Monday 13 September – that does not mean every subscriber will have a collection on that date. Subscribers should ensure their garden waste bins are ready on their first scheduled collection day in the fortnight after 13 September.
Collection days can be checked via My Collection Day at somersetwaste.gov.uk.
The fortnightly collections were suspended for six weeks allowing redeployed staff to support rubbish and recycling collections that have been disrupted by the national driver shortage, Covid pressures and other factors.
The extra staff have played a key role as collections get back on track and SWP would like to thank the county’s 56,000 garden waste subscribers for their patience.
Subscriptions have automatically been extended by eight weeks – the extra two weeks to recognise the disruption at a busy time of year. They are all being emailed or written to in the next two weeks with a reminder of date of their first resumed collection.
Despite the suspension, it is important that garden waste bins are not overloaded. Heavy bins (more than 40kg) can break vehicle lifting equipment and become a serious danger to crews and the public.
If you have repeatedly compacting contents or repeatedly added contents and let it settle, it may be too heavy. If crews consider this to be a risk, the bin will not be collected. Customers will need to reduce the weight and it will be emptied on your next scheduled collection.
Extra garden waste capacity will continue at Somerset’s 16 recycling sites until after collections restart, with site users encouraged to avoid the busiest periods and instead visit at the typically quieter weekday times around 1-2pm and 3-6pm.
Please check traffic with the queue cams covering nine of the busiest sites: somersetwaste.gov.uk/recycling-centre-queue-cams/
Mickey Green, SWP Managing Director, said: “This has been a really difficult time and we again thank the public for their patience and crews for their hard work.
“Authorities up and down the country have been affected, and while it is still challenging here in Somerset, things are getting back on track.”
Please report any missed collections, online if possible, using the My Waste Services feature at www.somersetwaste.gov.uk
The national driver shortage is a long-term issue made worse by Covid, which has delayed driver training and testing, and the departure of many EU drivers.
Somerset’s hard-working crews have been collecting more waste throughout the pandemic as people spend more time at home. That makes it harder to complete rounds and means they have been working extended hours for many months.
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