Changes to waste and recycling services due to Coronavirus pandemic

Due to the effects of the current Coronavirus pandemic, from Monday (23 March) we will be changing waste service to focus on refuse collection for the next few weeks.

This will mean -

• Suspending the weekly separate food waste collection
• Suspending the collection of garden waste
• Collections of recycling wheeled bins (white lid and blue lid) will change from fortnightly to once every four weeks. Please see our website for further details of collection times.

The green lidded refuse bin waste collections will remain fortnightly on your usual collection day. Please put your food waste into this green lidded bin until further notice.

Residents who are signed up to Bexley’s chargeable garden waste service and use the brown lidded bin will have their membership automatically extended.

The borough’s reuse and recycling centres at Thames Road Crayford and Foots Cray are currently still open for residents to dispose of excess garden waste and recycling free of charge.  More details of the usual opening hours are available at reuse and recycling centres.

There are also a number of mini-recycling sites across the borough for residents to use.

Please be aware that this situation may change again depending on the level of staff absence. As with many services, things are changing daily.

Serco, the Council’s waste collection contractor, will be moving street cleansing staff onto waste collection, which will have priority for the foreseeable future.

Cabinet Member for Places, Cllr Peter Craske said: “This is an unprecedented situation and we will be monitoring the situation to ensure we provide the best possible service within the available resources.

“We know that asking you to put your food waste in the usual rubbish bin contradicts our recent requests to use your food bin more, but this is a temporary step we have to take. We hope to get things back to normal as soon as the position improves. Right now continuing to make your rubbish collections is our priority.

“This is a time like no other to #doitforbexley. You can help by cutting down your waste, taking yours and a neighbours waste or recycling to one of the waste centres or banks and pass on this information to those who may not receive it. Please bear with us during this time. Please keep checking our website and social media for updates on the service.”

“These are trying times for us all. If your bin is missed or your street has not been swept please bear with us.”

Residents will not be able to report missed bins either online or by telephone for the time being.

Please do not call the Council about waste collections or recycling. The Contact Centre is extremely busy with higher priority issues and supporting vulnerable people. We must ensure that these calls can be answered promptly to keep our residents safe and well.

We will update our website frequently as the situation develops at www.bexley.gov.uk/coronavirus

ENDS