Peterborough bulky waste collections suspended

Bulky waste collections in Peterborough will be suspended for the next four weeks to put more frontline crews on general waste and recycling collections.
Bulky waste collections have been stopped to allow staff to concentrate on bin collectionsBulky waste collections have been stopped to allow staff to concentrate on bin collections
Bulky waste collections have been stopped to allow staff to concentrate on bin collections

Bin crews across the country are feeling the strain of Covid-19 and Peterborough is no different. In order to ensure residents waste and recycling continues to be collected on time, as of today (Monday, April 6), four employees from the Aragon Direct Services’ bulky waste collection will be deployed into the core refuse and recycling services. Anyone who already has a bulky waste collection booked in for next week will be unaffected.

Councillor Marco Cereste, cabinet member for waste at Peterborough City Council, said: “This is not a decision we take lightly and we are not alone as a city in doing this. At a time when everyone is quite rightly staying at home to protect the NHS, it is essential that we continue collecting people’s bins. The Covid-19 outbreak means some of our staff are self-isolating and so we need to redeploy those who are working on our bulky waste collection to keep this vital service for residents running. We will revisit the suspension in four weeks and if we have enough staff to ensure bins can be collected, it will re-open.

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“I’d like to thank everyone in Peterborough who has left messages of support to the bin crews across our city for carrying out this vital function. They are key workers and in the past I think everyone in the UK has taken them for granted – not anymore.

“I know they are hugely encouraged by all the drawings, notes and waves they have been receiving from residents. I’d ask residents to do what they can in return to help our bin crews, by making their job a little easier and safer.”

Residents can help by:

· Leaving notes, drawings and messages of support and waving to crews as they go by

· Wiping the handles of bins before and after they are put out for collection

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· Only placing rubbish in their bins and not in plastic bags alongside it. The city council operates a no side waste policy on black bins – now is not the time for non-essential waste as this will slow crews down.