Cheshire East Council has apologised to residents over missed bin collections.

Councillor David Jefferay, cabinet member for environment, sustainability and waste management, has shed light on the issues impacting collections in recent weeks.

This includes staff shortages, an increase in vehicle breakdowns and the impact of the hot weather.

The councillor has moved to reassure residents that measures are being put in place to get the service back on track.

Councillor Jefferay said: "We want to apologise to residents who have experienced missed or delayed bin collections in recent weeks. We know how frustrating this is, and we're sorry for the inconvenience caused.

"We want you to know what steps we're putting in place to get our waste and recycling services back on track.

"Like many councils across the country, we've been facing significant challenges including shortages of HGV drivers and loading staff, an increase in vehicle breakdowns, and the impact of the recent hot weather on both our collection vehicles and our crews.

"Unfortunately, these issues have led to some collection rounds being delayed, not completed or only partially completed. The week beginning June 22 was particularly challenging and had a significant impact on our collections.

"We understand that residents expect a reliable service, and our teams are working extremely hard to get services back on track – we'd like to thank them for their commitment to doing so.

"We'd also like to thank residents for their patience and understanding. We are especially grateful to those who have showed kindness to our drivers and loaders with words of support, cold drinks and even ice creams. These gestures were greatly appreciated by our teams."

Councillor Jefferay continued, explaining how physically demanding the work carried out by collection crews is.

Crews wear full protective gear and walk up to 15 miles every day, collecting more than 50,000 between them bins every day.

"Catching up on missed collections while at the same time carrying on with normal collections is a huge challenge," councillor Jefferay said.

"While there is still a backlog in some areas, the situation is improving, and we have a short-term recovery plan in place."

Short term recovery plan

• Recruiting permanent and temporary staff to address shortages – we very recently held a successful recruitment open day.
• Collection crews are working exceptionally hard, including working on Saturdays, to catch up on missed collections wherever possible. When it's been really hot, we have been starting collections earlier in the day, so our crews are working in cooler temperatures.
• Hiring more vehicles to replace those currently out of action.
• Monitoring our collection performance and recovery progress daily
• Providing regular service updates through our website and social media channels.

Councillor Jefferay continued: "Alongside this, we're looking at the data behind missed collections to target improvements where they're needed most, with garden waste collections a particular focus.

"What we already know from doing this is that some of our collection rounds, particularly in areas where new housing developments have been built, no longer reflect the current demand.

"We know we need to address this, and we're reviewing our rounds as we prepare for new food waste collections in autumn.

"If your bin has been missed, please continue to report it via our website. We are also updating our missed collections page daily with the latest operational information.

"We will collect up to three additional standard size waste bags on your next collection day – please leave these next to your black household waste bin or silver recycling bin and it will be collected by our crews.

"Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through these challenges."