As Dorset Council’s waste services begin to feel the pressure from coronavirus (COVID-19) employee absence and the need to introduce new safety measures to protect our workforce, we are asking residents to help us by changing the way they deal with their bins, litter and recycling.
Lower priority services such as bin deliveries and garden waste collections have now either been suspended or are on the verge of being halted. Therefore, due to these reduced staffing levels, we are now implementing the next stage of our plan to keep essential collections going.
- We will no longer return to empty any missed bins until your next regular collection day. If your bins are missed, please bring them back in. Store your waste safely and put it out on your next appropriate collection day
- We will pick up extra black bin rubbish only if your previous rubbish collection was missed. We will continue to pick up food waste weekly. You can also put out extra recycling provided it is separated correctly
- Do not try to report missed collections to us. Visit our service disruption pages online to check if you are in an affected area
- Remember to crush and flatten items (not glass) before throwing away, as this will help create space in your bins and our collection vehicles
- Please continue to observe public health guidance on handling your waste. If you have symptoms of coronavirus, please double bag your waste and store for 72 hours before placing in your bin or blue sack. You should also wash your hands both before putting your bins out and after taking them back in
- We recommend rinsing dirty rubbish and recycling items before placing in bins to reduce unpleasant odours.
As we have had to redeploy employees to higher-priority services, our street-cleansing, household recycling centres and recycling banks in car parks have also been suspended. Therefore: –
- If you go out to exercise, take your litter home with you, especially dog waste. Street and dog bins are not being emptied on a regular basis. NEVER place household waste in a street litter bin
- Do not travel to a household recycling centre (HRC, or ‘the tip’) or any recycling bank in a car park as these are all now closed and are no longer being serviced. Any items left at these sites will not be cleared away and will be considered as fly-tipping.
Cllr Tony Alford, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Customer, Community and Regulatory Services, said:
“We appreciate that these new measures will cause inconvenience and frustration for some people, but these are unprecedented times and the changes are vital. We need everyone to show patience and understanding and work together so we can keep collections going for as long as possible.
Thank you to everyone supporting our front-line employees by following our guidance. We will monitor how things are going and take further action if we need to. In the meantime, please stay at home and keep an eye on our webpages, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and local media for further updates.”
Not a problem but I won’t be paying all my council tax either , I’m quite prepared to keep all my bills paid I’m a key worker as well , but wouldn’t expect to be paid for something I haven’t done
Trevor – Only 10% of your Council Tax goes toward waste services, most of which are still being delivered. While we sympathise with anyone experiencing financial hardship at this time, failing to pay Council Tax is not recommended without speaking to our financial support team – check out https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/emergencies-severe-weather/emergencies/coronavirus/benefits-employment-and-financial-support.aspx
In addition to may other post, do you realise how much flytipping will happen if the rubbish is not collected. There are not enough police to stop this. Also we have a problem with rats in our area, your suggestion of home composting will only add to the infestation of vermin. Rats will chew through the plastic bins that you suggest purchasing, giving them a nice warm nest and plenty of food. Again the council is taking the easy way out. Will you be giving us a rebate if sevices are cut? Proably not.
Bins out as normal recyvling bons emptied yet food waste not emptied again. Please expkain why and when this will be done
Mark – Without any address information it is impossible to investigate. Please let us know the details.
Both bins out for collection today. Normal waste has been collected, however recycling bin still not emptied, this is the 3rd week now. As our fortnightly collection was missed last week.
My food bin has been missed for 2 weeks now, people in the village have had some collected. Also the bottles were missed last week too. How can I be sure the food will be collected?
Have a great life Trevor doesn’t sound like you have been trying hard so far
I have been making eco bricks with all the non recyclable plastic from packaging and have reduced my rubbish by 2/3rds. Please encourage people to do this, it helps you and the planet. Lots of information on eco bricks on interior
We only recently moved in , we have no bins , and we’ve been told you won’t pick up black bags. What can we do before getting rats ?????????
Typically we wouldn’t Darren, but the situation has changed somewhat. Please let us know the reference number you received when you ordered your bins and we’ll let the crew know to expect black bags – thank you.
Thank you to everyone who is continuing to work. It must be difficult and maybe they should be mentioned with other key workers.
What’s the likely hood of them taking an overflow of bags considering some of us are self isolating and having children at home full time, create more household waste. We all appreciate our key workers, but a bin that isn’t emptied simply because the lid is slightly open is not very “all in this together” especially if we have nowhere to store it for two weeks.
Kate – We’ll take extra bags if a collection was previously missed. We’d expect our crews to be a little more relaxed with the rules and take a common-sense approach at this time.
I am sole resident and regularly put my bins out every 3 weeks just an idea for people to do the same and help our vulnerable bin men
We would like to say a big thank you to all the people working hard to collect our refuse and not just in these difficult times
They are key workers and hopefully treated as such. Hopefully they all stay safe and well.
This system has been failing for a long time. Obviously you dont employ enough of the right staff to do the right jobs. Bin men do the best they can .perhaps some of the pen pushers should roll up their sleeves and muck in to help everyone out in these trying times. Sick of hearing we’re all in this together.
Utter rubbish .
Bins out as normal recyvling bons emptied yet food waste not emptied again. Please expkain why and when this will be done
We completely appreciate the difficulties and need to prioritise, however like most we are unfortunately producing far more waste at home at the present time. We would normally manage any excess waste by taking to household recycling centre but understand the need for temporary closures to promote staying at home. It is so important that we try to maintain a safe environment at home and within our community – storing excess waste isn’t feasible or commensurate with this. We need the opportunity to leave additional bags for collection – at the moment it feels as though we have no options to help us manage the largely unavoidable excess waste.
Please have a read of https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/bins-recycling-and-litter/report-a-bin-problem/coronavirus-bin-collections-frequently-asked-questions.aspx – thank you.
I am severely disabled and my recycling bin was not emptied once again.
I have an assisted bin emptying, so why was my bin missed once again?
My food waste has not been collected yet again. You say it’s coronavirus. Now over. I will not keep my waste in or on my property . I pay for you to pick it up. you are now in breach of that contract. So it will stay on the kerbside until yo pick it up. Or you could of course give me back some of my council tax
Sorry to hear that Terry – please fill out this form and we’ll look into the problem, thank you – https://dorset-self.achieveservice.com/service/Missed_collection
Could you please empty the dog bins in Barnhill road and the corner of Sunny Side road, both bins are now overflowing with dog waste as they have not been emptied for many weeks. This is surely a health hazard.
Sorry Annie, but as we have stated in the release, street bin emptying won’t be happening as often as we don’t have the available crews we usually would. Everyone should be taking their litter home, especially dog waste.
trevor steele what a miserable reaction the council still have to pay their absent workers have some compassion your comment makes you sound self centred
May I suggest that the council look at enploying casual workers with the appropriate qualifications, who have temporarily lost their jobs, to fill in for council workers who are unfortunately off sick. This would support the services that the council tax payers are paying for but may not be receiving. Ie bin collection and garden waste collection, come on East Dorset please don’t take the easy option and shut down sevices, think outside the box as the NHS has had to and the supermarkets who are having to cope with unprecidated demand.
I know everyone is stretched thin at the moment, so thank you for efforts, but the problem is less with people not taking waste home and more with people bringing it from there home and fly tipping in little bins, around litter bins, in laybys and hedgerows. I know this is lack of consideration from the few rather than the many, but will happen more with the extra waste produced by families being home constantly and recycling centres being closed (although I personally don’t generally think a trip to the recycling centre is “essential” travel).
How will the crews know if previous collection was missed if people are not supposed to report missed collections? How do people get blue bags if deliveries are on hold? Thank you in advance for answers. Please stay home unless absolutely necessary. The sooner we can stop the spread. The sooner life can return to “normal”.
We have an in-cab system that registers when we have been unable to empty a household’s bins. These reports are flagged up in our system so the next time we go out we know which ones weren’t collected last time.
This is really useful information, thanks. Can I just ask if the in-cab system differentiates between glass and general recycling as mine and my neighbours glass was missed yesterday but everything else was taken. Many thanks.
Sorry to hear that Sarah, but yes it does.
If you were on sick leave I think you would expect sick pay. Your boss would have fund that wouldn’t he?
If the refuse workers are off because of illness, the council still have to pay them and deal with the lack of staff. Please think before you complain.
Resulting from coronavirus re cycling centres are currentley closed st 1 April.
What advise is given regarding bulk Garden waste disposal?
Will Re Cycle Centres open on restricted hours and safe limits on numbers of People / vehicles/
Sorry Gerald, there are no current plans to reopen the recycling centres while government restrictions on travel are in place. Please keep hold of your garden waste until the tip reopens. Thank you.
I keep putting out extra recycling, I put out two extra bags today. These were tied up but you could still see what was inside them. My recycling bin was taken but not the bags so my bin is half full already. Extra recycling will have to go into the ordinary rubbish now which is not what I want to do. I’m in Corfe Mullen and this has happened twice in the last month.
All this is well and good, but many people have very little amount of bin space and as we are all now staying home, more waist will be produced to no fault of our own. When we worked we used less and made less garbage, but now thats all turnned about. Even before the lock down we asked for more bins and collections, due to the amount of rubbish littering our streets and pathways, nothing was done. In fact ten bins where removed all together. We have seen an increase in rats over the years due to lack of bin space and collections. We know that this lock down will hinder your response, but like I said before, even before the lock down we had a lack of bins. Why not give us a skip or two? That would help and would allow your workers not to come in to direct contact with the rubbish. Most of us live in flats and can not keep rubbish in the coridors as we use to or in our tiny homes, so it has to be placed next to bins as the bins are full up in a matter of days.
Dear Mr.Stewart – It sounds like you live in a block of flats. Bin provision is the responsibility of your residents/housing association, although we have dedicated officers who work with these to make sure everyone gets what they need. If you don’t have enough bin space at your communal residence, please speak to your housing association in the first instance or ask them to contact us at enquiries@dorsetwastepartnership.gov.uk
Please can you ask people not to burn rubbish. For those of us that have asthma or copd it can be harmful, especially now.
Same here re Asthma . Someone in Wyke has a fire going almost every evening and the fumes are carried far and wide with the wind we have experienced.
If the garden waste collections are suspended indefinitely, do we get our money back…?!
Collections will resume when things return to normal, at which point we’ll work out how we’ll compensate customers.
All understood and appreciated
Appreciate that we are all stretched at the moment…..surely you could look at allowing us additional black bags (like Xmas) taking into account the fact that many households have far more people at home now than pre-Covid19? Our blue bin is full 5 days before collection day!
We’ll pick up additional waste is a collection was previously missed. We also provide additional capacity for households of 5 or more people – check out https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/bins-recycling-and-litter/request-a-bin/request-a-bigger-bin-for-a-larger-household.aspx
I am sure people who have panic bought will need far more waste than normal for a few weeks, no one can eat the amount of consumables taken off the shelves recently. I wonder what people will do with all the extra fridge space once this is over. I can put my bins out once every six weeks and my recycle bin could go out once every two months. I would love to have a compost bin, which would mean even less waste, but have rats in my area. My biggest sin is my dog, he does produce waste and I fully understand why we should take this waste home. Waste collections being spaced out further and full bins make life very difficult for some people, especially if they eat ready meals and have children, or are carers for relatives who use disposable adult pads etc. Perhaps those at home generating lots of waste could think about how they can reduce their waste. Look at food they buy in packets and think about how they can purchase food without of packets.
I am sure the council will have enough financial issues without subsidising peoples habits of producing excessive waste.
What about people like me live in a flat have a dog but do not have a bin to put poo bags in ,only blue sacks which have to be stored i flats till collection day , surely that is unhealthy l understand these are hard times , and we will see fly tipping , pleas advise .
We’d suggest leaving the dog waste bags in a container/larger plastic bag outside your door. When it’s your rubbish collection day, put the bags into your outside bin/blue bag. Thank you.
The most important thing here is the health and safety of your collection teams, and that is in our interests too. So well done for sorting that out.
Dorset Council Waste Partnership Dustbin loaders and Drivers deserve our support and thanks for continuing their work during this difficult and scary time.
I’m sure any issues with the changes that have been forced in the teams to try to ensure their safety as well as ours will be looked at seriously.
THANK YOU DRIVERS LOADERS AND MANAGERS ??????
Thank you for your kind words and support Carol – it is very much appreciated.
Just like to thank all the guys that collect our bins at this very worrying time
Thanks for all you guys do especially in these troubled times
Stay safe all
Will we be refunded for the missed garden waste collections, given that we pay extra to have there done?
Once things return to normal, we’ll work out how to compensate garden waste customers.
Really !!!! these men are risking the lives emptying our bins. Think what it would cost to refund a few £’s . While thousands of people are offering help there are still a few thinking of themselves.
Joan, I understand we’re all feeling the pressure, but there is no need to be quite so dramatic over a perfectly valid question.
No, I think Joan is right. Get some perspective. Maybe you could volunteer to go out with the bin men if you are struggling with your garden waste?
I live alone so do not have much in my bins, is it more helpful to put them out when they are due regardless or is it better to miss a collection and put them out next time when they contain more? (I would always put my food waste bin out every week no matter how little it contains.)
Hello Isabel – Yes, it would be helpful to only put bins out when they are full. Thank you for your consideration, it is much appreciated.
Will do. Many thanks to all staff working to keep things going. Stay safe.
If we have to use blue bags for recycling will we get a further supply.
Blue bags should only be used for rubbish. Recycling can be placed in any sturdy box that can be lifted.
I appreciate the hard and dangerous work that the dustmen do. These difficult times mean that we should do everything to comply. My thanks to you ?
A big thank you to you all…very much appreciated
Doing a fantastic job in very testing times
Hello, Sandy lane, Upton didn’t have the recycling bins emptied, ie not just 1 bin missed, is the rubbish not going collected until our next collection date.
Thanks
Can I put dog poo in my blue rubbish bag??
Yes you can Janis, just ensure it is bagged up properly before it goes in.
Hi.
Thankyou for your support. I just wondered what will happen with garden waste if there are no collections and refuse stations closed. This will start to smell and attract vermin.
Thanks again kathryn.hardy022@gmail.com
Understandable, but PLEASE make sure your operatives actually make the effort to read their lists of assisted collections. They often forget us under normal circumstances, let alone when this pressure is on them.
Remember, many of us can’t”store rubbish safely” until the next collection date, that’s why we get assistance.
Just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to you and all your employees ???for every thing your doing can’t be easy for you all at this time xx
Please can you advise me. I don’t have rubbish or recycling bins as have always taken everything to the tip. It is all mounting up and as the tip is closed I do not have a solution to dispose of it. Please let me know how you can help. Many thanks
Sorry Jane, but the kerbside collection service is available to all residents so we’re not sure why you wouldn’t have a full set of bins (or bags and boxes) for your property – no-one needs to use a household recycling centre to drop off household waste on a regular basis. Please e-mail enquiries@dorsetwastepartnership.gov.uk to see if there’s anything they can do.
Depending on where you live, if it’s in East dorset, Ferndown Town Council can arrange for brown bins for food waste and green bins for glass, just give them a ring, we have someone working from the office.
Cllr Julie Robinson
Thank you for all your hard work. Your teams are brilliant we have always had and will continue to have great respect for those working in this vital service.
If you are not collecting garden waste, does that mean you will be delaying taking the direct debits from accounts!
Thank you. It may be helpful if people took their dog waste home with them and disposed of it either in their own waste bins or dug into their gardens. With the bins not being emptied as regularly and with the Warmer weather on its way dog waste can cause smell and disease if left unattended .
Well done to all involved in collections – the collectors, drivers, street cleansers and office staff who ensure the service runs smoothly
Can l leave an extra black bag next to my bin ? I have a toddler who is not at nursery and I’m over run with nappies
You can only leave black bin waste out if your bin was missed previously. We provide additional capacity for children in nappies – visit https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/bins-recycling-and-litter/request-a-bin/request-extra-capacity-for-disposable-nappies.aspx
Yes they did miss my bin last time
What a brilliant service the bin men and supporting staff are doing in this difficult time.
I agree that for some the extra rubbish as families are home more means that they do not have enough bin capacity. I’m not sure what can be done about that.
I think if the refuse tips are kept open this would help particularly as more are doing DIY to keep themselves busy. You could operate it by social distance still. You could even charge a small amount to pay for any extra staff you have to employ.
Thank you Annette for your kind words. Unfortunately we simply cannot open the recycling centres because travel there is not listed in the government’s reasons for essential travel. We do not think it is unreasonable to request that, if people want to continue doing things like gardening and DIY, they just keep hold of the waste until the recycling centres reopen. We also provide sufficient bin capacity for all households and provide options for those who have bigger families, children in nappies, medical waste etc. Unfortunately, it would appear some people have been relying on recycling centres to deal with their excess waste rather than arranging extra capacity at home via our Recycling Team.
We live up a farm track. We haven’t had any blue bags for a couple of years, not been a problem as we very keen on recycling and go to tip when necessary.
How do I get more bags?
I don’t know how the chain works, but it seems to me closing the tips will just lead to fly tipping on a massive scale. I only know Bridport, which would be very, very easy to control how many cars allowed in and how near anyone gets to each other. Fly tipping will cause longer term, more hazardous and far more expensive problems for the council.
Blue bags can be requested by e-mailing enquiries@dorsetwastepartnership.gov.uk
Many thanks to all of you working so hard to help us all in these difficult times.
Useful advice about dog poo and what to do with it which maybe needs to be more prominent in your initial advice as it could mount up over the weeks, and be left by the bins if people are unsure what to do.
I shall bag it, put it outside the door in a container and then in the general waste as you suggest.
Many thanks and much appreciation again
Jan
Good morning,
our recycling is full to the brim.
General waste Full to the brim.
When can we expect them all to be emptied?
Stoborough Green, Wareham
Dates please?
Thanks
Sorry to hear that Tom. As stated in the release, your rubbish and recycling will be picked up on your next regular collection day for that waste type. We’ll pick up extra if you’ve had a missed collection.
Thanks for the job you are doing and for keeping us informed. Best wishes to your teams in the current troubling times.
Can’t believe people are complaining like this. We say well done to the refuse collection service. Think the majority of people feel the same. There will always be complainers .Keep safe
Well done to all of the council staff keep up the good work and stay safe
Sorry was there a reason why our bins were missed at the Traingle, west Lulworth, Friday the 27th, it was the recycling bin, plus a few weeks ago I rang about my bin being damaged when emptied, the cog holding the handle came out, couldn’t be found anywhere, so guess it fell into the dust cart. You were sending a new one but not arrived yet.
Where do you suggest we keep our missed food waste! The bin is nearly full now and we now have to wait another week for it to be collected. This is quite a common occurrence and it should not keep happening!
Sorry to hear that Pauline. Food waste can be left out for collection in a similar container (such as a plastic box or bucket) if you have excess from a missed collection.
I have had both recycling and rubbish bins left unemptied in the last two weeks which I can live with but I have assisted collections.I know that your crew would not deliberately miss me so maybe it is because my bins are set back from pavement under the window. I will ask a neighbour to move the bin to a place where they can be more easily seen but it wold be helpful if you could remind them about assisted collections. The bins are all in a safe place and I thought that possibly they had been left because they were different staff and therefore didn’t know about my disabilities.
I know this is a mistake because I have nothing but respect for your bin collectors who are doing one of the most important jobs in the country and life without them would be unthinkable.
Pauline Britten,
If that is all you have to worry about then you’re a very lucky lady.
I have my rubbish collected from my back garden,for the past 2 weeks my food bin has not been emptied and my rubbish bin was not emptied yesterday,has this service been stopped.
J M Trevaskus
Sorry to hear that – it may be that a different crew is emptying your bins and are unaware of the collection arrangements. Please e-mail wasteteam@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk and let them know your address and the nature of the problem and we’ll get the depot supervisor to investigate. Thank you.