Household brown bin and mixed recycling collections are to resume in Aberdeen next week on a four-weekly cycle to accommodate social distancing for crews in their truck cabs during coronavirus.
Household brown bin collections are to resume in Aberdeen from Monday 6 April and mixed recycling collections will resume from Monday 20 April and each will then follow a 4 weekly collection schedule. The general waste bin will continue as at present with fortnightly collections.
The collections will be:
Brown bins - collected week beginning 6 April and w/b 13 April;
Mixed recycling bins - collected w/b 20 April and w/b 27 April;
And thereafter each will be emptied on a 4-week cycle.
General waste - fortnightly collection.
Although dates and frequencies are changing, the brown bin and mixed recycling collections will still be on a household’s usual collection day.
Residents should put food waste in their brown bin or their general waste bin – whichever is due for collection next. To make the most of the space in their recycling bins, residents should flatten items to help get more material in. Recycling points are still available to use for those who can.
The temporary household bin collections rota will start from Monday (6 April) and people are asked to check the City Council website for a downloadable pdf calendar at http:///www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/collectioncalendar. People are asked if they are able, so long as social distancing is observed, to print out a copy of the calendar for vulnerable neighbours.
This change to the working practice, coupled with less experienced staff who have been brought in to assist the service, means that collections may be a little slower than usual and we ask householders to be aware of this.
The new ways of working are designed to protect staff by ensuring social distancing in the waste collection vehicle cabs however the consequence is collection operations are slower.
The waste and recycling collection service has also been impacted by increased absence levels due to people self-isolating and while staff from roads and environmental service are assisting, there is still an impact on bin collections. There are 80,000 households which have kerbside collections in Aberdeen.
Instead of the normal practice of a driver and two crew for loading bin contents into the back of the bin lorry, only one crew member will travel with the driver in the cab and in some cases a second crew member will follow in a separate van to assist.
It is difficult to predict the future impact of coronavirus and whether any further changes to services will be necessary. Residents are asked to keep updated by visiting the City Council’s website at https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/coronavirus-covid-19 and on its Facebook and Twitter pages.
Recycling points are still available at many supermarkets and shopping centres but residents should not make special trips to use them. Instead, residents could use them to drop off recyclable items before they are do their essential shopping, in line with Government guidance. Residents should, where possible, clean their hands before and after use.
Householders should be aware any additional items left beside bins will not be collected. Residents are also reminded that they should not leave anything beside the bins at recycling points or communal bins.
With the closure of the household waste and recycling centres and the suspension of the bulky uplift service, residents are reminded they should ensure that large items intended for disposal are stored safely away from communal areas.