Recycling collections in Halton will be disrupted over the coming weeks as soaring Covid infections have left the council’s waste collection service understaffed.
Halton Council has so far managed to maintain its bin collection service over the course of the pandemic, but high levels of staff absence now means it is having to cut back on some collections.
Covid-19 infection rates in the borough soared to more than 1,300 cases per 100,000 residents at the start of the year and remain high despite a fall in recent days.
The disruption has forced the council to prioritise the collection of general waste, meaning some blue recycling bins will not be picked up.
In a statement on its website, the council said: “Regrettably, the service has now been affected by the high levels of Covid in the borough. This has resulted in higher than normal levels of staff absence which means that we are unable to deliver all operational waste services at this time.
“While we are experiencing these staffing difficulties, we will be prioritising the collection of general waste from households whilst also carrying out as many scheduled blue bin collections as possible.
“Unfortunately, as a consequence of the current problems being experienced, some blue bin collections will be missed.
“The council will not be in a position to undertake any missed collections until the next scheduled collection day but will take any additional waste presented for collection at that time."
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The borough’s two recycling and household waste centres will remain open for those who wish to drop off waste or recyclable materials.
The statement added: “We trust that residents will acknowledge the efforts of the waste collection team in maintaining all services without disruption to this point and will appreciate that council staff and services are not immune to the effects of the current Covid situation.
“Residents can be assured that we will do all we can to minimise the disruption to our waste services and resume normal operations as soon as we are able.
“In the meantime, we would ask residents to bear with us and we thank them for their patience and understanding.”
