Waverley Borough Council is thanking residents for their patience with any delays to their bin collections caused by the national shortage of HGV drivers and the continuing effects of the pandemic.
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) estimates that the shortfall in drivers now stands at 100,000 nationally, mainly as a result of a backlog in testing due to COVID-19.
Although the council had to temporarily suspend its garden waste in January, all services have been maintained since then. If residents experience delays to any collections, the council is aiming to collect bins within a day or so of their usual collection.
Councillor Steve Williams, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainability, said:
“Waverley, like many other councils across the UK, and indeed, many national companies, is continuing to face challenges due to the national HGV driver shortages, COVID-19 and the impact of Brexit. We are facing the same issues which are causing supermarket supply problems and fast-food chains running out of products. However, whilst many local authorities in the region have already suspended some services indefinitely, Waverley Borough Councils are all still running. Our waste collection services are in a better position than many because of close partnership working with our waste contractor, with considerable work having been undertaken to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and driver shortages.
“Although we had to suspend garden waste collections in January due to high levels of illness amongst Biffa’s staff and their families, all residents were recompensed for the loss of service, it was resumed in March and is currently still running. We, like others, have called on our residents to be patient where there are delays due to driver shortages or illness.
“We continue to work closely with Biffa to keep this essential service running and I’d like to thank the bin crews for doing such an amazing job in these really difficult circumstances. I’d also like to thank residents for their patience and their continued efforts in reducing or reusing waste and composting, as this helps both our bin crews and the environment.”
Residents are asked that if their bin has not been collected, to please leave it out the next day.
Any waste collection disruptions are updated on the council’s website where residents can also check, and report missed bin collections.
Regular updates are also posted on Waverley Borough Council’s social media - NextDoor, Facebook: @WaverleyBC, Twitter: @WaverleyBC, Instagram: @waverley_bc.