Garden waste collections in Carlisle will be phased back in from Monday 27 April, with some collections starting a few weeks later than others.
The kerbside collections were temporarily suspended last month as Carlisle City Council took steps to protect critical services. Refuse collections and other key kerbside collections have continued as normal during the Coronavirus outbreak.
The staffing levels within the collection service are still not at full capacity but the City Council will restart the scheme from week commencing Monday 27 April. Households will get one collection every four weeks.
Steps have been taken to protect staff to ensure that they are safe and that the service can continue – social distancing has resulted in a reduced number of staff per collection round. This means that the collections take longer and may not take place at the same time as usual.
The recycling crews will only be collecting from half of the scheduled collection rounds each day. Half of households will get their collection over the first two weeks and the other half over the second two weeks
Collection days won’t change but the collection time may have changed, so please put your bin out for collection by 7am on the day of your collection.
Residents are advised to check the council’s website for their next collection dates. Visit https://www.carlisle.gov.uk/residents/bins-and-recycling/rubbish-collections
For collections of refuse and recycling during week commencing 4 May, residents are also advised that their refuse and recycling printed calendars were produced prior to the bank holiday moving to a Friday. This means that there will be no change to normal collection days during week commencing 4 May. Please check the online calendar for confirmation of the collection day.
To ensure that all collections take place and to protect staff, the council is asking residents not to put out any side waste with their bin. Please keep hold of any excess garden waste until your next collection.
Only put garden waste in your garden waste wheeled bin – no household waste, soil or other waste products. Please do not overload the wheeled bin – if crews are struggling to move it then we may not be able to load it to the recycling vehicle.
Cllr Nigel Christian, Portfolio holder for Environment and Transport, said: “We’re delighted with the support our refuse and recycling teams have received during exceptionally difficult circumstances. They’ve received thank you cards and even a few rounds of applause when they’ve been working hard delivering critical services. I’d like to pass on my personal thanks to all the staff from the City Council that have been working on the frontline and also those working behind the scenes to make sure we deliver the best services we can.
“We took the decision to temporarily suspend garden waste collections as we needed to prioritise our refuse collections. This was the right decision as we’ve maintained critical services and have also protected our staff. As staffing levels have now increased, we’re now able to restart garden waste collections. This will initially be once every four weeks, but we’ll keep this under review and will increase collections when we’re able to. In the meantime, please continue supporting our frontline staff by following the advice and only putting garden waste in your bin – no side waste please.”
The council is doing everything they can to ensure household waste is collected during the coronavirus outbreak and are continuing to collect kerbside recycling. They are asking residents to support them by:
- Washing their hands before and after touching their bins and recycling containers to help protect themselves and our crews. Handwashing with soap and warm water for 20 seconds is still the most effective way to prevent the spread of infection. The council’s crews wear gloves; however, they touch lots of bins and recycling containers and this will reduce cross-contamination. Please wash your bin too.
- Making sure cars are parked so they do not block access for the bin wagons. With more cars at home, it is making it difficult to get around the streets easily.
- Show your support to the crews with a wave!
Recycling support
Thanks to all our residents for continuing to recycle. Please help our recycling team by:
Rinsing tins and jars.
- Make more room in your recycling box and bag, by flattening cardboard containers, squashing cans and plastic bottles and replace bottle tops.
- Also to minimise the risk of littering, fasten your recycling bags and use a green box cover.
- Please remember to wash your hands before and after you have handled your bin and recycling containers.
Please do not fly-tip and please make sure you are dealing with a registered waste provider if you pay for your waste to be taken away – if it is fly-tipped, you could be fined.
No garden fires – burning waste is dangerous and harmful for local air quality, particularly at this time when we need clean air. Please consider you neighbours.
