Bin collections cancelled as Covid infections cause staff shortages

Bin collections have been cancelled across the country as Covid infections continue to drive staff shortages.

Local authorities in Manchester, Essex, Somerset and Buckinghamshire have announced reduced services or a complete suspension of waste collections because staff numbers have been diminished due to the Covid self-isolation period.

Chelmsford City Council was forced to cancel three days worth of food waste collections because 23 members of staff were off sick and conceded that it does not know when the staff shortage will end.

Elsewhere, North Somerset Council said it was unable to collect around 1,000 recycling bins over the weekend due to staff shortages, insisting that additional crews would be out to deal with the issue in the hardest-hit areas. Buckinghamshire Council was forced to cancel garden waste collection last week to prioritise food waste and recycling as staff fall sick with coronavirus.

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Rising Covid cases in recent weeks as a result of the Omicron variant have led to widespread worker absences in several industries, prompting the government to warn public sector leaders to prepare for up to a quarter of their staff being unable to work.

A spokesman for Chelmsford City Council said: “This is not something that we wish to do, but unfortunately due to severe staff shortages caused by coronavirus isolating and illnesses we had no choice.

“We are down by 23 members of collection crew staff and are even struggling to secure temporary staff from agencies because agencies are having the same problem. Because of this short-term problem, we have had to make some difficult decisions.”

It comes as more than one in 10 NHS staff in England were off sick at the turn of the year due to coronavirus. This figure could continue to worsen in 2022 with hospitals facing as many as one in six doctors and nurses off sick throughout the new year as the Omicron wave of Covid fuels burnout, stress and anxiety among NHS staff.

137,583 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases were recorded in England and Wales as of 9am on Sunday, the UK Health Security Agency said.

Amid high coronavirus infection rates, secondary schools are being told to test all pupils for Covid on site before they return to classes this week. Schools were also given the go-ahead to keep pupils at home and return to online teaching if they have what the education secretary called an “impossible” shortage of teachers.

In an open letter, Nadhim Zahawi said teaching “remotely” will be acceptable “if operational challenges caused by workforce shortages make delivery of face-to-face teaching impossible”.

The return-to-school plan also sees secondary school students wear face masks in class as well as ministers renewing a push to double-vaccinate 12- to 15-year-olds – amid Labour criticism that 2 million are yet to be jabbed at all.