Bin collections during Easter and Early May Bank Holiday

The Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service, a partnership between Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Councils, is currently collecting black and blue bins.

Collections of green bins are suspended until 4 May due to the impacts of the Coronavirus on bin crews. Around a third of bin collection staff are off work with symptoms or are self-isolating.

All collections scheduled from Good Friday 10 April to Friday 24 April and from Friday 8 May to Friday 15 May will take place on a later date than usual, and residents can check their collection days online.

The Coronavirus is also impacting other waste services, with collections of bulky waste suspended and Household Recycling Centres closed, including those at Milton and Thriplow. Recycling banks for clothing and other items at recycling points are also not being emptied so residents are being urged not to use them for now.

Cllr Rosy Moore, Cambridge City Council's Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment and City Centre, said: “'Our waste crews are doing their very best to maintain regular black and blue bin collections throughout this Coronavirus crisis. Like all other organisations and businesses, we have workers off sick or self-isolating due to their own or family-members health conditions. They have also had to change how they work in order to comply with social distancing requirements and access to places for breaks has been reduced. But through it all they are carrying on with the hard job of keeping us healthier by collecting our rubbish and recycling. We are asking residents to help our crews by reducing the amount of waste that each household produces and by always using the correct bin. If you are using this time at home to have a clear-out or do some DIY please don't put the extra waste in your wheelie bin, but instead store the clean waste separately so that it can be re-used, recycled or disposed of once regular services are back up and running. I understand that this will be easier for some to do than others but at this difficult time we can all make a difference and support our key workers to keep vital services going. Many thanks!”

Many residents have been supporting and thanking their bin crews, who clearly cannot work from home, by leaving notes or children’s drawings on their bins or in windows. These are all being collated and passed on to the crews.

Cllr Bill Handley, South Cambridgeshire District Council's Lead Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Licensing, added: “We’d like to thank our residents for their understanding, and for all the messages of support that our hard-working bin crews are seeing. They are doing such an important job under difficult circumstances and deserve recognition. I know they appreciate these gestures, and they continue to be under pressure, so please keep up your support. I’d also like to say that our blue bin recycling collections are operating as normal, so please do remember to recycle any Easter egg packaging such as foil, card or plastic.”

Cambridge City residents can check their bin days at www.cambridge.gov.uk/bins-recycling-and-rubbish and South Cambridgeshire residents can check their bin days at www.scambs.gov.uk/bins