Hot weather, sickness and road closures blamed for missed bin collections

Hot weather, sickness and road closures blamed for missed bin collections in August.

Residents in Portsmouth faced disruption to bin collections in August, with several days where many roads had to go without their refuse or recycled waste being collected.

Portsmouth City Council posted on social media on August 3, 14 and 17, informing residents that bins which had not been collected would be picked up the following day or week.

A council spokesperson said: “Throughout August, our waste and recycling teams faced a number of operational challenges, including staff sickness, periods of very hot weather and some local road closures, which on occasion affected collection schedules.

“While some collections were made later than usual, no bins were left uncollected and all scheduled collections were completed.

“We do not currently anticipate any ongoing disruption to waste and recycling collections. However, as with any frontline service, unforeseen circumstances such as staff sickness, severe weather, road closures or other operational issues can occasionally affect collection schedules.

“Where this happens, our crews work hard to minimise any disruption and complete collections as quickly as possible. While there may sometimes be short delays, our priority is to ensure all scheduled collections are completed, and we do not anticipate any specific areas of the city being affected.”

The council denied that the disruption was a result of the service being brought in-house in 2024.

It said “any front-line logistic operation there can be periods of instability related to staff sickness, vehicle breakdowns, weather related problems, and roadworks which on occasion affected collection schedules.”