An amber ‘extreme heat’ warning is in place across much of England and parts of eastern Wales for the weekend, with temperatures in some places set to hit near 35 °C.
As was the case last month when the mercury hit record levels, several council crews began their collection rounds earlier, with many starting as early as 5.30am. This includes crews in areas such as Dudley, Watford and Wokingham, among many others.
With a MET Office amber warning in place for extreme heat on Thursday and Friday this week, bin & recycling collections will be brought forward. Please make sure your black bins are kerbside by 5.30am and recycling bags/boxes or green bins out by 6am on the day of your collection pic.twitter.com/N0JRWgAPWe
— Dudley Council (@dudleymbc) August 9, 2022
Suspensions
While this heatwave is not as hot as the last, it is spread over a longer period. This has meant disruption to services has been fairly limited, but there have been some instances.
Amey had to suspend collections on the Isle of Wight yesterday, urging residents to leave bins out for collection this morning.
The council said: “Isle of Wight Council’s waste partners Amey have temporarily suspended some resident bin/sack collections as temperatures have hit 30°C and over.
“Crews have been collecting as usual but due to the extreme temperatures and risk of heatstroke, they are being given extra water and other measures to deal with the heat throughout the day.”
‘U-turn’
Elsewhere, Waltham Forest council made headlines in the national press when it ‘u-turned’ on its decision to halt garden waste collections.
The council had earlier suspended them, claiming that tonnages were down during the heatwave and the move would enable it to focus on other services.
However, as outlined below, this move was halted yesterday after concerns were raised.
Brown bin collection update: We have listened to the concerns of residents over the last 24 hours and decided that we will not be temporarily suspending brown wheelie bin food and garden waste collections. pic.twitter.com/NXL1eaP9kC
— Waltham Forest Council (@wfcouncil) August 11, 2022
HWRCs
Over the weekend, many local authorities and their waste partners will also be shortening opening times at household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs), in order to protect staff.
Derbyshire warned residents to ensure they wear correct footwear in order to keep themselves protected.
Planning a visit to one of our recycling centres this weekend? During this heat think hands and feet! Please wear gloves and footwear to protect yourself properly. Save your flip flops for the beach https://t.co/AoNFqD9ROC pic.twitter.com/Ylfu6yUC4n
— Derbyshire CC (@Derbyshirecc) August 12, 2022
Other councils have decided to close centres early to “keep staff and residents safe”. Cheltenham took this measure with the temperature set to rise to 34°C.
Opening hours update, Swindon Road, Household Recycling Centre will close at 2pm today, due to the forecast of extreme heat. Thank you for helping us to keep our service crews and residents safe 🌞@CheltenhamBC #HotWeather pic.twitter.com/95UcQuURnb
— cleangreen@cheltenham.gov.uk (@CleanGreenChelt) August 12, 2022
Guidance
Currently, there is no specific guidance available to local authorities for dealing with extreme temperature, as it often comes down to specific circumstances.
However, the most frequent advice is to ensure staff have access to water, start rounds earlier and rotate shifts to cooler times.
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