Wiltshire Council thanks residents for their patience during waste collection disruption

Wiltshire Council has thanked residents for their patience amid the ongoing recent service disruption to waste collection services, which is due to a severe staff shortage at its contractor, Hills Municipal Collections.

The council is working hard with Hills Municipal Collections to mitigate the impact of the disruption, but for the time being some people could see a delay to their recycling collections of up to three days after their usual collection day, as the council looks to prioritise emptying general household, garden waste and clinical waste bins.

People are advised to leave their bins out if they are not collected on their scheduled day and they will be emptied as soon as possible. Residents are also encouraged to only report a missed bin collection if it is not emptied more than three days after their scheduled collection day.

The council has set up a webpage to provide a weekday daily update of any rescheduled collections and the locations affected  - waste collection update. People are asked to check that webpage prior to reporting a missed bin collection to the council if they can. 

Understandably, the council is receiving a high level of correspondence about the waste issues, and it does not have the capacity to respond to every one, but the webpage provides useful information and clarity for residents.

Hills Municipal Collections is working on Saturdays to catch-up on collections, and the possibility is being explored to operate a service on Sundays too. The company is also recruiting to a number of vacant posts, and more information can be found at CMD Recruitment: for Hills Municipal Collections (jobs page) (opens new window).

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Waste, said:

"We completely understand people's frustrations that our waste collection services are not currently operating to the standard we'd expect.

"We thank people for their patience, and we'd like to assure everyone that this issue is one of our highest priorities to resolve. We are working closely with Hills Municipal Collections to manage the company's severe staffing shortage and ensure there is a strong action plan in place to improve the situation as quickly as possible so they are able to fulfil their contractual obligations.

"Clearly this is a difficult time for the sector but we're confident that the job vacancies will be filled and that we can get our service back on track.  

"I'd encourage people to visit our webpage to get regular updates on the affected services This will provide more clarity at what has been a very inconsistent time for the service."

"Once again, we thank people for their patience and understanding."