Information on cancelled green waste collections from NDDC

Dear All,

As many of you will have noticed, we have had some issues recently with the waste and recycling collections in certain parts of North Devon.  There have been various reasons for this but the main reason is the fact that it is still incredibly difficult to recruit HGV drivers. This means that when existing staff go on holiday or are ill, we struggle to find replacements.  It has been particularly difficult over the current holiday season as we have also seen an increase in the amount of recycling being presented and also an increase in issues such as inconsiderate parking etc.  Over the past few weeks we have been trying to manage the situation with our existing pool of spare drivers and with managers and supervisors stepping in to assist but the problems are still persisting and it is becoming increasingly difficult to catch up with previous collections.  In an effort to clear the backlog, we have decided to cancel green waste collection for 2 weeks with immediate effect which will enable resources to be diverted to the recycling rounds. 

Unfortunately this will mean that every green customer will miss one collection which is regrettable but it is difficult to see what other options we have at present.  Whilst it is hopeful that this will resolve issues in the short term, we do realise that some longer term measures will be required to increase capacity in the rounds and the team will be working on this over the next few months.

We will try to collect any extra green waste that is presented on the next collection but will also be encouraging customers to use the local recycling centres in the meantime.

North Devon District Council