No green bins will be emptied in the Harborough district this week due to illness among workers

The council has apologised to tens of thousands of residents for the “inconvenience”.
People are being warned that no green bins will be emptied in the Harborough district this week.People are being warned that no green bins will be emptied in the Harborough district this week.
People are being warned that no green bins will be emptied in the Harborough district this week.

People are being warned that no green bins will be emptied in the Harborough district this week.

Green bin collections are being scrapped across the entire district because several refuse lorry drivers have fallen ill, it’s emerged late this afternoon.

Harborough council said that their contractor FCC Environmental is aiming to restart the service as soon as they have enough staff back at work.

The authority has apologised to tens of thousands of residents for the “inconvenience”.

“There will be no green bin collections in Harborough district this week (w/c Nov 22) due to driver illness.

“We will be assessing each week and hope to resume collections when crews are able,” said the district council.

“We apologise for any inconvenience.

“Please see our social media and website for updates.”

The news comes days after the council said that six workers were off work ill – including three with Covid.

The council’s regular district-wide day-to-day refuse service has also been slowed down due to vehicle breakdowns and trucks coming off the road.

Cllr Jonathan Bateman, Harborough council’s Cabinet lead for environment and waste, told the Harborough Mail last Wednesday (November 17): “We’ve had some delays to bin collections in the district, but our crews have worked hard to catch up on all scheduled collections from the start of the week which is great.

“The delays have been due to slightly higher than usual illness rates, with approximately six FCC Environment staff off ill out of 90 employees.

“Only three are confirmed to be Covid.”

He added: “We’ve also had some vehicle breakdowns and trucks off the road due to having to wait for mechanical parts.

“However, we have hired in extra refuse vehicles and our crews are continuing to work extremely hard to collect all bins.

“In the meantime, we ask residents to please be patient and leave any unemptied bins presented at the kerbside - and crews will return as soon as they are able.”

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