SWINDON Borough Council has suspended recycling box collections for the rest of this week due to a surge in staff shortages in its waste and recycling team.

Crews have been hit hard by by rises in Covid-19 cases and general staff sickness over the last week – an issue which is affecting a number of other organisations across the country.

In order to allow its crews to catch-up on missed collections, the council will not collect recycling boxes today, tomorrow, or on Thursday or Friday.

If households are due to receive their recycling box collections within the next four days, they will need to store their recycling until their next collection day instead. If their recycling boxes are already full, they can use sturdy containers from around their home to put any additional recycling out on their next collection day.

The changes to recycling box collections will not affect black wheelie bin, plastic recycling, food waste, garden waste or clinical waste collections. If a resident receives any of these services, these will continue as normal.

While recycling box collections are suspended, the council’s recycling crews will be catching-up on any waste and recycling collections that have been missed since lkast Thursday, January 27. Any households with waste which has not been collected since last week should leave it outside their property until the crews pick it up.

Coun Kevin Parry said: “I am really sorry that we are having to suspend recycling box collections for some households in the Borough this week.

“This was a really difficult decision and not one that we have taken lightly, but it will allow us to catch-up on any collections that have been missed since last Thursday and get us back on an even keel, while also allowing us to prioritise the collection of perishable waste.

“Throughout the pandemic we have, for the most part, been able to continue providing our recycling services uninterrupted. However, with the rise in coronavirus cases across the Borough, a number of our staff are unfortunately having to self-isolate with COVID-19.

“This continues to be a live situation and we will share any further updates as and when we have them. Please keep checking the Council’s Facebook page and webpages for the latest information.”

If people have large amounts of waste and recycling that they want to dispose of, they can book a slot at the Household Waste Recycling Centre on the council’s website: www.swindon.gov.uk/hwrc