Bristol: Garden waste collections due to resume

Garden waste collections are likely to resume in Bristol from next week, according to mayor Marvin Rees.

The fortnightly service was suspended for ten weeks from 7 July due to driver shortages and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the council said.

Mr Rees said it was "more likely than less likely" that it would restart from the week commencing 15 September.

Bristol Waste has been criticised for the service disruption, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

That included delays to some rubbish and recycling collections.

In July, 10% of its frontline workforce were self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 or being identified as a close contact of someone with the virus.

The city council-owned company said suspending garden waste collections was necessary to "maintain our essential waste and recycling services".

The mayor said, "We have asked Bristol Waste to do everything they can to ensure services will resume on September 15.

"In addition to Covid, we are also facing a national shortage of drivers, partly caused by the impact of Brexit."

Mr Rees added, "It's not impossible something will come up and knock that deadline."

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]