Published: Friday, 27th March 2020
Cannock Chase Council would like to reassure residents that waste and recycling collections, including the brown bin collections are continuing as normal in the District during the COVID-19 outbreak for the time being.
Council officers are talking daily with our contractors Biffa and updates are being posted daily on our website and social media pages. Should there be any disruption to the service, due to operatives being taken ill, this will be posted on our website; Facebook and Twitter accounts as early as possible.
Mike Edmonds, Head of Environment and Healthy Lifestyles said “We would ask residents to check our website or social media pages daily for updates on our waste and recycling collections rather than calling our Customer Services team. As you can imagine in these uncertain times we are experiencing high call volumes, which is why we are trying to keep our dedicated Coronavirus webpage as up to date as possible.
“We are asking residents to help by taking extra measures and to clean the handles of their bins before and after collections to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We would also ask residents to respect the Government guidelines for social distancing and not to approach our operatives.”
To access the Council’s services page and coronavirus click on the following link: http://www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/council/coronavirus-changes-council-services-and-information
On Thursday 26 March two loads of dry recycling (blue bin) were rejected at our materials recycling facility. Contamination included, used tissues and wipes, clothing, bedding and household items. The added issue of used, dirty tissues and wipes being placed in the blue bin is particularly serious at this time as all dry recycling goes through hand sorting by people at various stages. During the COVID-19 outbreak this puts our facility provider’s employees at a great risk. Government guidelines during this pandemic are to place personal waste (such as used tissues) in a bag, which should be tied securely. This should then be put aside for at least 72 hours before disposing in your general waste (green) bin.
The Council has instructed its recycling collection crews to operate a zero tolerance towards any recycling container that is seen to contain tissues, wipes or other domestic waste.
Further guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection#cleaning-and-disposal-of-waste