Green waste collection: Buckinghamshire Council update

The coronavirus outbreak and staff shortages forced the suspension of the service in March but now council bosses have confirmed green waste bins will be collected from Monday, May 11.

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Councillor Bill Chapple, Buckinghamshire Council’s environment chief, said: “Coronavirus has had a massive impact on all our waste services but waste teams from across the county have worked tremendously hard to prioritise collections and keep waste and recycling bin collections going.

“However, we're now fighting back and it's my intention to get services operating somewhere close to normality wherever I can, subject to current conditions continuing.

"Bringing back green waste collections will really help residents tend to their gardens during the lockdown.

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“I know collection crews will be working hard particularly on the initial rounds, so could I ask residents to be considerate and avoid over-filling bins or putting additional garden waste out alongside."

Normal garden bin collection days will stay the same for residents but the council has advised any changes will be displayed on their website.

No subscribers will be out of pocket while green waste hasn't been collected, the council said, as contract extensions or reduced-priced renewals are being introduced.

This comes as bosses have been working “behind the scenes” to get five of Buckinghamshire’s tips ready to re-open.

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The council is waiting for Home Office clearance before making the recycling centres free to use, however.

A 'supermarket-style' of operation with strict controls on the number of people entering the site at any one time will be introduced, and marked off areas to maintain two-metre gaps will be employed.

Cllr Chapple continued: “As soon as we get the green light, we'll publish more detailed guidance on when these sites will reopen and how they will operate so residents can be absolutely clear on what they need to do.

"It's been a concerted effort from the whole waste team to find the best ways to reintroduce services given the extraordinary times we're in and I really hope it will provide some much-needed help for local residents going forward."