Late bin collections blamed on staff sickness and vehicle problems

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

Late kerbside waste collections are being caused by staff sickness and “minor” issues with refuse lorries, residents have been told.

Householders in different parts of Swasea, such as Sketty, Dunvant, Killay and West Cross, have had their rubbish picked up a day later than scheduled recently but the council said the majority of collections were taking place as normal.

It’s a particularly busy time of year for refuse staff because of the volume of garden waste left outside people’s homes every fortnight.

The council said black bags and recycling should be put out as normal and it is encouraging people to use green food caddies for their food waste every week rather than putting it in black bags every fortnight, which foraging animals can get at.

Refuse posts

The authority is currently shortlisting candidates for 20 additional refuse posts to help get things back up to speed.

“At the moment we are experiencing some disruption to the completion of collections due to issues such as staff sickness or minor vehicle-related problems,” said a council spokesman.

“This is leading to a small number of households not getting their household waste collected on their collection day. When this happens we are returning the next morning to collect. We are in the process of recruiting additional waste collection staff, which we expect to help reduce the amount of disruption to waste collections.”

Household waste

He added: “Our advice to residents is the same as always: place your household waste out for collection as normal. If you notice that your street has not been collected leave your waste out for collection the following morning.”

The issues aren’t said to be affecting the emptying of street or dog waste bins.

The council trialled a pause of garden waste collections in December 2023 and January 2024 to bolster other types of kerbside collection. It plans to trial the collection of additional items such as plastic film, Tetra Pak, and textiles in due course and will also roll out sealable containers for people to put their cans and bottles in rather than green plastic bags.

Recycling and composting rates in Swansea now exceed 70% and are among the highest in Wales. Most black bag rubbish is incinerated at an “energy-from-waste” facility out of the county.