Bin collections have faced challenges due to the twin pressures of summer day-trippers and Covid rules, North Ayrshire councillors have heard.
Brown bin uplifts in the Garnock Valley have suffered as a result of staffing pressures during recent weeks.
Kilbirnie and Beith councillor Donald L Reid praised council staff who have worked to maintain the service but asked why collections are out of kilter.
Independent councillor Reid told this week's meeting of the North Ayrshire authority: "My personal view is that our waste management team in North Ayrshire have done an incredible job of work ensuring continuity of uplift of bins between March 2020 and the present.
"I would make special mention of the front-line team emptying our bins throughout the pandemic and sincerely thank them for their service during this difficult time. It would be remiss not to also acknowledge the organisational work of our NAC waste management team who have had to be innovative to support the front line team through a challenging period."
But he posed a question for spokesman, Councillor Jim Montgomerie, saying: "Can the portfolio holder for Green New Deal and Sustainability advise on the current constraints faced by waste management in delivering a quality service during still challenging times and in particular make any comment in relation to brown bin uplifts in the Garnock Valley area which seem to be experiencing difficulty in continuity of service as detailed in the NAC calendar?"
Councillor Montgomerie, who represents Saltcoats, responded, saying that there have been "unprecedented difficulties" in a range of sectors nationally over the past 18 months and added that waste management has not escaped unscathed.
But he attributed additional pressures to a "combination of factors", such as additional volumes of waste being generated by the switch to home working and the need for physical distancing, as well as self-isolation requirements for workers, which he said "presented significant resourcing challenges".
Labour's councillor Montgomerie added: "During the first phase of the pandemic, officers were able to mitigate this resourcing impact by training and redeploying colleagues from street scene and road services from their normal duties.
"This swift action meant that we were able to continue normal waste services uninterrupted in stark contrast with most other local authorities across Scotland who had to suspend one or more of their waste collection services for weeks and in some cases months."
But the unique circumstances presented by a glorious summer spell and a surge in sun-seeking visitors to Ayrshire's coastal towns have added to the toll, he said: "During 2021 the challenge has shifted up a gear, the easing of restrictions nationally created visitor management challenges due to good weather and high levels of demand – particularly in our coastal areas – and resources have had to be returned to street scene to manage this effectively.
"In addition, the recent increase in positive cases has had an impact on levels of self-isolation absence, a continued factor in the increased tonnages of waste for us to manage due to more people being at home."
The councillor continued: "All employees have worked tirelessly to ensure waste collections remain as uninterrupted as possible and in the main, our grey, blue and purple bin collections have been largely uninterrupted, with occasional instances of brown bins being uplifted a day after their allocated day.
"To counter this, several Saturday shifts have been working during the summer period to ensure that brown bin service delivery is up to date by the end of the working week.
"Officers have sought to keep members and the public up to date with regular services, updates have been provided where areas have been affected. Officers continue to monitor waste management activity on a daily basis and have responded dynamically to the challenges as they developed."
He said that hopes are high that as garden waste demand begins to wane, service pressures will ease significantly.
Councillor Montgomerie also echoed the plaudits heaped on front-line workers, saying: "I think it's safe to say as well, chair, that we share councillor Reid's sentiments in terms of the thanks to our front-line workers in this service area and indeed all service areas who have been working in exceptionally difficult circumstances to deliver these front-line needs."
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