LCC are currently experiencing ongoing challenges with regards to waste collection services in the Leeds area.
As the Covid infection rate continues at a high level, there has been an increase in the number of routes incomplete each day, with recoveries sometimes taking more than 48 hours.
Any staff reporting Covid symptoms requires LCC to stand down whole crews until they have had a PCR test.
There also continue to see excess waste being generated.
The order of priority to complete and recover routes will remain black – green – brown.
As it is very difficult to predict on a day-to-day basis the number of teams available to be out collecting refuse it is difficult for LCC to indicate when missed bins may be collected.
Some garden/brown bin routes will not be recovered at all and have to wait for the next scheduled collection.
Where possible amendments are made to routes/collection dates in order to maximise what can be collected.
LCC have recruited more staff and secured more vehicles, but have daily challenges which are not easily addressed, hence, their need to prioritise black – green – brown, which will continue to be in place for some time.
LCC appreciate the frustration that this might cause, but they will continue to do as much as possible to deliver an important front-line service in the middle of an ongoing pandemic by making daily decisions on how best to prioritise collections and recover missed collections.