I asked yesterday for an update on how the council intends to review its services in light of government guidance and I have published below the response I received this morning from the head of service:
Household Waste and Recycling Collections.
I am very pleased to confirm that these core services are holding up well, including collections over the Easter period, a very busy time for us. We are deploying extra vehicles and crew (including from garden waste and bulky goods rounds) as well as volunteers from highways, leisure, clean and green and neighbourhood protection. These are all helping us meet our social distancing requirements. You will be aware that these key workers have received a number of compliments from residents, elected Members and others, which is really helping with morale.
I do recognise that with more time spent at home residents are producing more waste and recycling. Some residents and Members have asked if we could collect extra side waste. I hope you will understand that this cannot be done at the present time, as the crews are already stretched on the residual waste rounds, and for us to take extra quantities right now, would exceed our ability to cope. The exception to this is dry recycling, which if placed in a clear plastic bag, so loaders can see what is inside, then in accordance with existing policy we are able to take this, when left to the side of the recycling bin.
Ways in which residents can assist are as follows:
- For collection day in tight streets, please ensure that cars are parked to allow access by the collection vehicles.
- Ensure bin is presented for 7am (normal bin collections times may have changed as we comply with social distancing).
- Please don’t overfill the bins, materials that fall out pose hazards to collectors, delay their progress and can end up littering which then subsequently requires resource to deal with.
- Please recycle as much as possible, (squashing down the contents) and avoid contamination.
- If you or your family are unfortunate enough to have coronavirus symptoms then please separately double bag materials such as tissues and wipes, and leave for 3 days before putting in the refuse bin.
Garden Waste Collection – Move to Saturday and Monday Collections
The current service to over 55,000 customers was postponed for a month, to allow the resource to be deployed in support of the main refuse and recycling rounds which operate Tuesday to Friday. This has been invaluable as it allows 10 vehicles and 30 crew assist the main refuse and recycling crews, and provides capability to ensure social distancing.
Whilst the challenges to delivering the core refuse and recycling services haven’t gone away, we do recognise that the garden waste collection service is highly valued especially as many residents are now spending more time in their gardens if they have one. We have therefore looked at times when we have got spare capacity – namely Saturday and Monday where we can continue to provide a garden waste collection. We have worked to plans in place where so we can deliver the service on these days over the next four months.
All customers are being advised of the new arrangements, which we have kept straightforward as possible so that Tuesday and Wednesday are collected on a Saturday, with Thursday and Friday collected on a Monday. We are allowing provision for customers to request a refund, however as the service is still being provided (albeit on different days) we very much hope that most will stay with us.
Under the revised dates, garden waste collections will begin for some customers on Saturday 2 May with others collected on Monday 4 May, Saturday 9 May or Monday 11 May, dependent on their collection calendar. In addition to bespoke e-mails and letters, over the next few days information on the revised dates will be uploaded on the mydurham website.
It is proposed to review the position in four months’ time. The peak of the growing season will have passed, and hopefully the peak of the pandemic too. This will allow consideration of remaining collection arrangements for the rest of the season.
The welfare of our staff is of overriding importance to us, which is why we are not attempting this during the normal working week, and furthermore we will ensure this service (which is much smaller than domestic rounds which cover 230,000 properties a week), will have a rota system in place to limit hours worked.
Household Waste Recycling Centres
Nationally the vast majority of household tips are closed. This is not surprising as delivery and depositing of household waste is not included in the legally permitted reasons for leaving home which are restricted to shopping for basic necessities, medical need, travelling to work (where it can’t be done at home) or daily exercise.
We are continuing to monitor the national guidance and changes to regulations and at some stage anticipate that they will re-open. When they do so we will of course need to be mindful of limitations and service changes where necessary, which may prohibit/limit customer assistance in removal of items from cars, limit movement along walkways, and need to also take into consideration traffic management and impact on highways that may arise.
In the meantime, and whilst the facilities are closed, we are encouraging residents not to embark on large DIY projects, that will generate waste or if this is unavoidable to have in place arrangements for safe storage.
Recovery Phase.
Clearly we are not there yet, but I want to assure you that we have commenced planning for tackling any excess household waste that may have accumulated, which will include in addition to the household waste recycling centres, additional capacity and support to the currently suspended bulky goods collection service, and potential support for community skips and other mechanisms.
