Garden waste in Fareham suspended as council 'struggles' with 'impossible' refuse collections amid staff sickness caused by pandemic

Fareham Borough Council announced on social media this morning it is ‘impossible’ for the authority to fulfil all its refuse collections in the current climate.

Any households affected are likely to have to wait a further two weeks for their garden waste to be collected on the next due date.

The statement on Facebook said: ‘Unfortunately we've had to suspend our garden waste service with immediate effect until further notice. Like many organisations we have been struggling with higher than usual levels of sickness as a result of the pandemic which has made it impossible for the council to fulfil all the refuse collection rounds without disruption.

‘In order to retain the core household waste and recycling collection rounds, some areas will not have a garden waste collection until their next delivery in two weeks.

‘We apologise for any inconvenience to our customers and will endeavour to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum.’

Residents are being advised to put their garden waste sacks out as usual but if they have ‘not been collected within 48 hours of their normal collection day, residents will be required to either take them to a recycling centre themselves or re-present on their next scheduled collection date’.

The statement added: ‘Only one bag will be picked up in any subsequent rounds, as the garden waste lorries have weight limits they cannot exceed safely and are operating during the peak of the garden waste season.’

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