Council apologises after 220,000 bins left unemptied across Fife

Due to severe weather, four consecutive days of waste collection were missed by Monday. Fife Council’s Waste Team uplifts over 50,000 bins a day across the region, which means that the team has been unable to service approximately 220,000 bins since last Tuesday.

Ken Gourlay, head of assets, transportation and environment, said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the disruption to bin collections due to the severe weather conditions and thank residents for their understanding and patience.

"We know that this is a very difficult time for many people, for a range of reasons. We’d also like thank people across Fife for continuing to recycle during these challenging times – we appreciate all your efforts.

“Our Waste Team is working extremely hard to keep up with bin collections. Since Monday we’ve been back to picking up all blue, grey, brown and green bins.

“Crews will use any spare capacity daily to return to missed customers on our assisted collection service who are our most vulnerable and unable to manage their own waste. Our crews are very busy carrying out this week's duties, so, unfortunately, can’t take on additional uplifts.

“Customers who had a bulky uplift booked will have their items lifted this weekend – 20 and 21 February.”

Fifers have been advised to wash and squash plastics and cans, then put the lid back on to keep air out; flatten drinks and food cartons, like UHT milk and fruit juice cartons; fold cardboard flat to make best use of space in their grey bin; and take excess recycling to a nearby recycling point.

There are over 300 recycling points in Fife to make it easy to recycle small packaging items such as glass bottles, cans and textiles. Find these at – www.fife.gov.uk/recyclingpoints.

Fifers are encouraged to remember that only recyclable materials such as cans/plastics, paper/cardboard and glass can be taken to recycling points. No landfill waste should be deposited at these sites.

Additional landfill waste can be taken to a local recycling centre. As physical distancing must be followed, an online booking system is in place, so book before visiting at – www.fife.gov.uk/recyclingcentres.

Slots are available at recycling centres across Fife.

Fife Council’s Waste Operations operates 6am-9pm, Monday to Friday, leaving no room for additional overtime that would allow the team to catch up the backlog. Fife Council says the most efficient way to deal with this issue is to carry on with collections and assist by uplifting reasonable additional waste from customers who have been inconvenienced by this.

Those who have missed a bin collection due to the recent severe weather can present one extra bag of waste on their next collection. If customers have missed a paper bin collection, please put out the extra waste flattened beside the bin.

Unfortunately, changing all online calendars across Fife, for the 183,600 households the council serve, at short notice and then ensuring this is widely communicated to the public is challenging, and could cause further service disruption.