Over the festive period and into the New Year, several local authorities across England have reported delays and cancellations to kerbside collections brought on by workforce shortages.
Now the government is monitoring the impact of staff shortages in various sectors including local authorities. And, Defra is thought to have urged councils to try and maintain collections from households to avoid waste building up.
Private sector
The Environmental Services Association (ESA), the trade association representing the private waste sector, has warned that bin collection services across the UK may encounter further disruption and delays in the coming weeks.
The concerns come against a background of government data, which shows that 1,189,985 people in the UK tested positive for Covid-19 in the seven days to 3 January, representing nearly one in every 50 people.
The Cabinet Office claims disruption caused by Omicron has been “controlled” in most parts of the public sector. However, it has asked public sector leaders to test plans against worst case scenarios of workforce absence scenarios of 10%, 20% and 25%.
Defra told letsrecycle.com it was “working closely” with the waste industry and local authorities to ensure services carry on whilst they manage the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Disruption and delays
Sam Corp, head of regulation at the ESA, said the waste sector was “highly resilient” and had maintained a good level of service throughout the pandemic.
Mr Corp told letsrecycle.com: “The ESA and its members have anticipated and mitigated the risks to staffing posed by the new variant as much as possible, notwithstanding the operational challenges that continue to be posed by Covid-19.
“As anticipated, waste collection services in some areas are starting to see some staff shortages arising from the more infectious Omicron Covid-19 variant.
“This means that bin collection services across the country may encounter some disruption and delays in the coming weeks, which could be exacerbated by higher-than-normal waste volumes after the Christmas holidays.”
Mr Corp said the industry “would be grateful” for residents’ patience and understanding while service operators catch up on any missed or delayed collections in the coming weeks.
Councils
Among local authorities facing disruption, Manchester city council has cancelled all green food and garden recycling bin collections “until further notice” due to staff shortages related to Covid-19.
And, Birmingham city council apologised to residents via social media after collections were missed in the week after Christmas with waste crews “affected by Covid”.
St Albans city and district council says residents’ waste services may experience “some delays” due to staffing shortages at the local authority’s contractor, Veolia, caused by “Covid-related self-isolation situations” and a national shortage of HGV drivers, among other factors.
‘Existing staff shortages’
A spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils across England, said authorities had entered the festive period with “existing staff shortages”.
They told letsrecycle.com: “A recent LGA survey indicated that around half of all councils had seen disruption to services due to lack of staff, with this being particularly acute in adult social care, children’s services and waste collection services.
“Like other employers councils are affected by the rising numbers of staff having to isolate due to Covid-19.
“While local authorities will do their best to protect the delivery of vital services including by redeployment, it is possible that access to some services may be reduced.”
The LGA spokesperson said the association wanted to work with the government to ensure councils were resilient in supporting their communities through this wave of the Omicron variant, including by prioritising council employees for lateral flow testing.
Covid-related absences
A perspective from the private sector came from services provider Serco, which carries out collections for several councils including those in the London borough of Wandsworth and Derbyshire Dales. The company said it had seen “a relatively small increase” in Covid-related absences.
A spokesperson for Serco told letsrecycle.com: “All of our Serco environmental services contracts are however working as planned, with none currently having to put in place any significant business continuity plans.
“Clearly it is a situation we are monitoring very closely alongside our clients as we recognise the potential for short notice impacts.”
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