Hartlepool council apologises for bin collections disruption while looking to take on more workers

Bin wagons have been unable to collect both grey (recycling) and green (household) bins on several occasions in the last couple of weeks.

In most cases they have been emptied the following day.

Hartlepool Borough Council has apologised for the problems which it says are down to a combination of staff sickness and a national driver shortage, and mechanical issues which have taken some wagons off the road.

The local authority said: “Unfortunately, the issues we’ve experienced have caused some disruption to residents and we understand just how frustrating this has been.”

Training of bin lorry drivers was suspended nationally during the pandemic resulting in a national shortage.

But the council says it has trained up more drivers and a number of tests are booked in soon.

It is also currently looking to employ casual refuse drivers and operatives.

A vehicle replacement programme has also been hit by global events meaning the council is currently running with older stock and it has been harder to get parts leading to wagons being off the road for longer.

The council has hired a vehicle to help the situation and is continuing to source new vehicles.

It added: “Our crews are working exceptionally hard to minimise disruption and whilst there might have been a slight delay for some residents, please rest assured we are trying to minimise this short term impact and are still managing to catch up collections by the end of the working week.”

For information about the vacancies and to apply, visit www.northeastjobs.org.uk/job/Casual_Refuse_Driver_Operative/217125