Delays to bin collections in Harborough are due to six workers falling ill – including three with Covid

People’s bins are taking longer than usual to empty across Harborough after six workers have fallen ill – including three with Covid.

Crews are working hard to catch up after Harborough District Council’s contractor FCC Environmental has been hit by illness over the last few days.

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.

Tonight Cllr Jonathan Bateman, Harborough council’s Cabinet lead for environment and waste, told the Harborough Mail: “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.”