People across Leeds have started leaving messages of support out for refuse collectors who are continuing to empty our bins amid the lockdown.
Hundreds of thousands of workers in Leeds have been sent home to prevent the spread of coronavirus, with only key workers now allowed to travel to and from work.
The nation came together last night in an emotional show of support to applaud and cheer all the NHS workers bravely battling the pandemic.
And now little notes are beginning to be left out to thank the bin men and women who are ensuring our rubbish is still being taken away.
"We've had a few of the post-it notes and a couple of rainbows on the bins," said John Wollmer, chief officer for waste management at Leeds City Council.
"They had a really great effect on the staff and it really cheered them up. They are quite invisible at the moment because no one else is out, so they are not meeting many people and it's quite lonely.
"They are worried, of course, but the small amount of messages we did see made such a massive difference."
Leeds Recycles has put out a video on Facebook to celebrate its team of 60 crews who are continuing to work every day to empty household bins across Leeds.
And while John says that the NHS workers rightly deserve everyone's praise for their incredible bravery and hard work, he has also asked people to leave simple messages out for the city's bin men and women to keep spirits high in these testing times.
'It would really boost morale if crews knew members of the public were behind them'
He said: "You don't see much being said about the refuse crews, but these guys are essential workers.
"They are out there every single day, rain or shine, handling peoples rubbish - and now that's needed more than ever.
"By doing that video it gives people a sense of what we are doing. The messages we did see made such a massive difference, so we felt it was a great idea to get the video out.
"It would really boost morale if they knew members of the public were behind them, so if you can please stick a nice picture of a rainbow on your bin, it would be so nice to see."
Brown bin collections in Leeds have been temporarily stopped so that crews can focus purely on black and green bin disposals.
Everyone is also being urged to thoroughly wash their hands with warm water and soap after taking their bin out and bringing it back in.
