Rubbish and recycling collection times in Brighton and Hove set to spiral due to council staff shortages caused by Covid

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Disposable barbecues left by Hove beachDisposable barbecues left by Hove beach
Disposable barbecues left by Hove beach

Brighton and Hove Council has issued a warning to residents that street cleaning, and rubbish and recyling collection will get worse in the ‘coming months’

The local authority said the problem is due to rising rates of Covid-19 and the number of staff self-isolating.

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Councillor Amy Heley, said: “We’re facing an extremely difficult situation at the moment due to staff shortages which are leading to missed collections and work like weed removal.

“We know and appreciate how extremely frustrating this can be for our residents, but staff health and safety is paramount.

“We want to be honest and ask people to please bear with us as we’re doing everything we can to support staff to stay protected from the virus, and minimise the disruption.

“Our staff are working tremendously hard to keep the city clean and tidy, including our parks and open spaces, and have been doing so throughout the pandemic, in all weathers.

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“But like local authorities and businesses throughout the country, our services are being severely affected by staff suffering from Covid, people self-isolating and the difficulties in trying to recruit and bring in agency staff.”

The statement said the city’s parks and open space will also be affected in terms of verge cutting and weed removal.

A spokesperon for the council said they’re also finding it very difficult to recruit new people or bring in agency staff as agencies are facing the same problems, and the situation is being made worse by the national shortage of HGV drivers due to Brexit.

And as a further result of leaving the European Union, the council says it’s finding it very difficult to get vehicle parts when bin lorries break down.

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To minimise disruption the council says it will ask residents, where possible, to store their recycling until collections can take place, and has has also asked people to flatten all boxes in their bins to create more space.

They have also asked resident not to leave extra wast beside a communial bin but to keep excess waste or recycling until the next collection or take it to one of the 64 recycling points or Household Waste Recycling Sites.