On 26 January, the council confirmed that collections, both household and commercial, had been completely paused because the Traffic Commissioner revoked its license.
The Commissioner told letsrecycle.com at the time that this was because the authority had not replaced its transport manager, who left in July 2023, in time (see letsrecycle.com story).
This meant the Traffic Commissioner was required by law to revoke the operator’s licence.
Collections
The council was able to resume collections on 7 February, after it received a temporary license and enlisted the the help of nearby skip firm Widdington Recycling and Braintree district council’s in-house service.
In a more recent update on its Instagram page the council added that from 10 February vehicle crews would be going around the area to catch up on any outstanding non recycling bin collections.
According to the council “regular crews and vehicles are back out this week, supported by extra trucks and staff, and will from 13 February be emptying recycling bins and food waste caddies.”
It added in an update made yesterday (12 February) that it was aiming to visit all parts of the district on their normal days, although asked residents to “please bear with us as collections may be a little slower than usual due to the extra recycling that will be left out for collection”.
If necessary, the council will deploy crews on Saturday and Monday (which are not typically collection days) to complete the recycling collections due this week.
It is understood that many areas areas in the region are still reporting bins going uncollected.
Service
The council has been run by the Residents for Uttlesford (R4U) party since 2019 and serves around 90,000 residents.
It recorded a 48.1% recycling rate in 2022/23, down from 51.8% the previous year, and runs an in-house service.
Subscribe for free