Garden waste collections resume

Garden waste collections in Basingstoke and Deane are set to resume from Monday 15 November and in Hart from Monday 22 November as staffing levels begin to stabilise following the national HGV driver shortage.

The fortnightly service will restart following an ongoing review by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Hart District Council and contractor Serco after the service was suspended early last month to protect core waste and recycling collection services.

Since then, Serco has worked to recruit drivers in a competitive market by offering increased salaries and enhanced benefits packages and are now in a position to offer a regular scheduled garden waste collection service. However, staffing levels will continue to be reviewed during the winter period.

As the service resumes, to provide a fair service to all garden waste customers the crews will be unable to collect extra garden waste. If they take extra garden waste from some customers, this will impact their ability to complete rounds, which would be unfair on those missed as a result.

Both councils are anticipating that on the first collection a large number of full bins will be put out for collection and customers are asked to bear with the crews as they work their way around the area.

Following the disruption extra collections have now been added to all customers’ subscriptions. Customers will receive a letter four weeks before they are required to renew their subscriptions and the letter will display the new renewal date.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Recycling and Waste Cllr Hayley Eachus said: “I want to thank our crews for their hard work during an incredibly difficult year and also our garden waste customers for their patience while we navigated the difficulties brought about firstly by the COVID-19 pandemic and then the HGV driver shortage.

“It is great news that we can start garden waste collections again in time for the autumn leaf fall and Christmas period.”

Cllr Alan Oliver, Cabinet Member for Environment at Hart District Council, added: “This has been a frustrating time for our customers, and we thank them for bearing with us while we work alongside our partners to reinstate the service. I thank everyone involved in getting us to this position.”

You can find the latest information on the council’s website at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/gardenwaste or www.hart.gov.uk/waste-recycling.