Here’s why so many green bin collections were missed in York (and it’s an ongoing problem)
The council has apologised for missing garden waste collections across the city – saying a shortage of lorry drivers is to blame.
Residents across the city say their green bins have not been collected – in some cases for up to a week – and have remained on the street.
City of York Council says the waste teams are working hard to collect all missed bins and it is currently recruiting more drivers.
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They say people do not need to phone the council to tell them about missed bins but can check the website, which says which routes have been missed.
A Heworth resident said: “Our bins are usually collected on Wednesdays but they’re still out, all along Stockton Lane and neighbouring streets.
“The last time collections were delayed, the bins were emptied on the Saturday, but this time has been much longer just as everyone is out, making the most of the warm weather and gardening. It’s just as well it’s not houseshold waste.”
Shortage of drivers
Green bin collections have been missed from homes in Acomb, Fishergate, Stockton-on-the-Forest, Dringhouses, Wheldrake, Heslington and Fulford and other areas in the past week.
Ben Grabham, head of environmental services, at the council, said: “I’d like to apologise to residents affected by the missed garden collections and reassure them we’re working hard to collect all missed waste as close to the normal date as possible, but please note this may be more than 24 hours.
“For those residents who were due a garden waste collection during [the week starting] June 7, please accept our apologies that we will not be able to recollect your bin, so please present your bins at your next scheduled collection date.
“We are prioritising all household waste and recycling, to ensure these are collected which means that some garden waste collections are affected.
“Residents do not need to call our customer centre to make us aware of the missed collections. We have a dedicated missed collections webpage, which is updated daily, so that you can see which streets are missed and when we hope to re-collect.
“The reason for the disruption to the service is that we are experiencing a shortage of HGV (class 2) drivers, which is currently affecting a small proportion of our garden waste bin collections.
“Sadly the shortage of drivers is not just something we’re experiencing in York, but is a national shortage, affecting a lot of businesses and local authorities’ across the country at the moment.”
The council is working with Work With York to recruit drivers and theu encourage anyone looking for work, who hold a HGV class 2 licence, to call 01904 566066 or visit the website.