Surrey: Garden bin collections delayed to 2022 due to driver shortage

Residents in parts of Surrey will not have their garden waste collected again until next year due to a national HGV driver shortage.

People who subscribe to the service were expecting it to resume on Friday.

But councils in Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Surrey Heath and Woking have now announced collections have been "suspended for the foreseeable future".

Waste contractor Joint Waste Solutions (JWS) said the HGV driver shortage was not due to improve for "some months".

JWS, which manages the waste collection contract with Amey in the four boroughs, has given no date for when the service will resume.

But subscriptions will be extended to compensate for the missed collections, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Woking Borough Council's Liberal Democrat leader Ann-Marie Barker said: "Residents have overflowing bins, or extra bags of green waste at a busy time in the garden.

"They can take their green waste to the community recycling centre, but this is at an extra cost for those whose vehicle is a van, unavailable to those without a vehicle and may be challenging for older residents or those with a disability."

Elmbridge Borough Council's chief executive Robert Moran has written to customers to apologise.

Incentives to attract more HGV drivers have been offered, including making overtime available and offering pay and retention bonuses, he said.

"The fact is that HGV drivers are in great demand and there are not enough to go around," he said.

All household rubbish, recycling, and food waste collections will continue to run as normal.

Garden waste can be taken to a Surrey County Council community recycling centre for free.

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