Peterborough bin crews working to catch up after COVID causes delays

A number of the waste and recycling staff are self-isolating and as a result the waste and recycling workforce has been significantly affected. In line with current guidelines if one person out of the crew displays symptoms the whole crew has to self-isolate.

All Aragon staff are working hard to return refuse and recycling services to normal as soon as possible. The crews are working weekends, their days off and staff from other services are all supporting the refuse and recycling teams.

Following Government guidance, Aragon has prioritised the removal of black bin waste and will collect the green recycling bins as quickly as possible. The brown bin garden waste was due to return on 12 January but because of the staff shortage unfortunately, this start date has been moved back to be week commencing 26 January. Please note, bulky waste collections are also temporarily suspended at this time.

By utilising this additional two week period Aragon anticipate they will have enough staff back working to enable both recycling and black bin rounds to return to normal and garden waste to resume.

Cllr Marco Cereste, Cabinet member for waste, street scene and the environment at Peterborough City Council said: “I’d like to thank residents for their patience and understanding during this time. The high standard of service we offer is a source of pride to all at Aragon and I am heartened by how the team have pulled together and indeed other departments have joined to ensure collections can happen. They are committed to keeping the service running.

“To help us, please can we ask residents to follow some steps whilst we clear the delays - please leave their refuse and recycling bins out for collection and the crews will collect it as soon as they can, keep an eye on social media for the latest updates and finally, do remember the Household Recycling Centre at Fengate remains open.”