Those businesses with a fleet of trucks largely have filling points at depots, meaning waiting times at forecourts isn’t an issue for service delivery.
However, many companies are having to give more notice to suppliers to ensure fuel is delivered, and concerns have been raised about staff being able to get to work.
Some companies have taken steps to pay workers to arrive earlier to ensure they can fill up, and if the situation persists, the sector is likely to ramp up pressure to enable key workers to get priority access to pumps.
In the short term, waste management companies and disposal authorities confirmed that the consumer spike in demand for fuel, amid fears that the HGV shortage could affect supply, hasn’t currently caused any problems to operations.
Councils
Councils have not so far reported disruptions to waste operations, however they continue to watch over the situation.
One in the south of England said provisional plans are being drawn up to enable key workers such as ambulance and police crews, care workers and other emergency staff to access fuel when needed.
Elsewhere, Ian Stephenson, assistant director of operations at the Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority told letsrecycle.com that the authority has been informed there is no issue with accessing fuel at the moment, but will monitor the situation closely.
A spokesperson at Dorset council said it too has had confirmation that bunkered fuel will not run out, but said it is monitoring the situation with regards to staff.
‘Frustration’
London-based collections company First Mile explained that operations are running as normal, but frustration is building around the situation.
Bruce Bratley , CEO at First Mile, added however that he remains “frustrated” with the situation, and expressed hopes that it calms down soon.
He explained: “First Mile are fine, as we have our own filling stations. We’ve had to give a weeks notice to get our fuel as the public have drained the system. It’s fine now but it’s added a level of uncertainty.
“With the driver shortages, we can juggle to a degree. But if there’s no fuel, we can’t go anywhere. There is potential for huge disruption if it continues.”
Fully operational
Waste management company Cawleys, which has facilities in Luton, Milton Keynes and Wellingborough, confirmed that its services are “fully operational”.
Phil Gudgeon, managing director at Cawleys, told letsrecycle.com that any issues that are surrounding fuel are mainly hitting staff who work at its facilities in Luton and Milton Keynes.
He said he feels the panic buying only seems prominent around these areas, so the company is getting workers to come in earlier and get a head start on loading vehicles in case of any issues. Mr Gudgeon added that while all services are operational, they will continue to monitor the situation and have to be “careful and organised” in the coming days.
Suppliers
Veolia also reported that it is not experiencing any delays due to the fuel shortage, however it said that it will continue to monitor the situation closely with its suppliers.
For Suez UK, John Scanlon, chief executive officer said: ‘We have been largely unaffected by the current fuel issues as most of our depots have their own on-site fuel supply and are prioritised for deliveries as an essential service.
“However, given many of our frontline teams start their working day before regular public transport is up and running, if the situation persists, we would encourage the government to consider priority access to fuel for key workers in essential services who may not be able to rely on public transport to travel to and from work.”
Government
Latest reports from government are that it too is following fuel supply developments closely, with the army waiting in the wings to help with deliveries if needed. Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps indicated that he hoped the pumps challenge would ease during the week.
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