Some Liverpool bin collections are being stopped next week until August as isolations due to coronavirus surge among council staff.
The council confirmed today that green waste collections would be suspended from Monday for a two week period because too many staff are isolating to run the service.
It comes as coronavirus levels remain very high in the city, with an infection rate of 483.5 cases per 100,000 people.
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In the last week alone, 26 waste collection staff have had to self-isolate either because they have had a positive test or they have been contacted by track and trace. This level of absence on top of current sickness and leave means 24% of the workforce are unavailable.
As well as the temporary suspension, the council is using all available resource including agency and when necessary overtime, to catch up outside of core time and at weekends.
Speaking today, cabinet member for neighbourhoods Abdul Qadir apologised for disruption caused by the pause.
He said: “Unfortunately due to Covid guidelines on isolation our refuse service team is severely depleted, and we need to prioritise our waste collections.
“Our current programme is clearly not sustainable when one in four staff are unavailable to work. We know the temporary suspension of collecting garden waste will be an inconvenience but it will allow us to ensure general waste and alleyway cleansing is kept to schedule.
“Our recycling centres are also open late in the summer so residents have an option if they feel they can’t wait for the next green bin cycle.
“After 19 July, the isolation guidelines change for those who have been double jabbed and this two week delay will give us time to re-organise the teams to ensure we can get back on track at the start of August.”
There are signs that Liverpool’s infection levels are starting to plateau or decrease slightly, with the number of cases recorded in the week up to July 11 falling by more than 200 on the week before.
However, infection levels remain high and the further lifting of coronavirus restrictions on Monday could push them up again.
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