Since the heavy snowfall on Friday, the team have been out across the city to empty as many bins as possible, despite the hazardous and challenging conditions. The snowfall on Boxing Day led to an initial delay to collections scheduled to take place on Saturday 27 December. The continued snow on the ground and icy roads have led to further delays for collections on subsequent days.
Residents are advised to leave their containers out until they have been collected, but also to make sure they are accessible for the crews so that they can be emptied, as many bins have been “snowed in”. Veolia are working closely with the Amey team so that gritting activities can be planned to coincide with scheduled collection routes, enabling bins to be emptied as quickly as possible during this festive period.
Veolia will be trying to collect black bin and recycling bins and boxes scheduled for collection today (Wednesday 31 December), Friday 2 January and Saturday 3 January. Also extra crews will be working during this time and on Sunday to empty as many containers as possible that have been missed since Saturday.
Councillor Jayne Dunn, Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Streetscene commented: “We are sorry for the delays to waste and recycling collections and are working to get these back on track as soon as we can, but it’s essential that both roads and footpaths are safe for the crews to carry out collections.”
“Collections have only been limited or suspended where absolutely necessary, with approximately 60% of black bins collected since Saturday – an incredible feat considering the weather conditions and Sheffield’s hilly terrain.”
“Hard work continues and we will take bagged extra black bin waste that people can’t fit in their bins to help residents.”
Francis Drew, Contract Manager at Veolia said: "Working safely in the interests of our customers and crews is our priority. Most of our collection trucks are heavy goods vehicles weighing up to 32 tonnes, so we have to be sure roads are clear enough for us to manoeuver.”
“We know that the conditions can improve during the day, so if a collection is not deemed safe on the first occasion, the crews have been and will continue to regularly re-visit all areas where bins haven’t been emptied, and make a collection as soon as they are able.”
To find out if your collection may be affected and for regular service updates, please visit http://www.veolia.co.uk/sheffield/service-alerts, follow us on Twitter @Recycle4Shef or call 0114 2734567.