Harrogate Borough Council is asking residents across the Harrogate district to follow some simple steps to help waste and recycling collections continue as normal during the coronavirus pandemic.
Councillor Andrew Paraskos, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet Member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:
With people staying at home during this pandemic, household waste is expected to increase and will put additional pressure on kerbside collections.
We have limited capacity in our collection vehicles and our crews are working tirelessly to ensure collections still happen as normal but we really need the support of residents during this challenging time.
The council is asking residents to follow these simple steps to make this happen:
- Anyone with the symptoms of coronavirus should double-bag their waste (especially tissues and cleaning cloths) before placing it in their wheelie bin or black bag.
- Wipe down, with a mild bleach solution, the handles on your bins/boxes before and after collection.
- Please try to minimise the amount of waste you put out for collection and don’t include any items that you’d usually need to take to the household waste recycling centres, such as DIY material.
- Although residents might use this time to have a ‘sort out’ they are advised not to put clothing, books, bric-a-brac, etc. in household waste or recycling and should wait until the household waste recycling centres or charity shops re-open. Additional side waste will also not be taken.
- Wash and squash your recycling.
- Please park responsibly and leave enough room for larger vehicles to pass and turn safely. During this time crews will not be able to return to any areas they haven’t managed to collect from because of blocked access.
- Do not dispose of your rubbish to an unlicensed waste carrier for disposal as this may end up fly-tipped and you could be liable to pay a fixed penalty notice.
In order to maintain social distancing wherever possible, crew have either been split into teams of two or will be followed by a support vehicle should more than two people needed. Additional staff from other council services have also volunteered to support the service during this time.
Unfortunately, if an individual property’s collection is missed then the council will not be able to return until the next scheduled collection. If the whole street has been missed they will aim to return within three working days. If this does not happen, for any reason, residents will need to wait until their next scheduled collection.
Councillor Paraskos added:
Finally, I want to thank everyone for playing their part in helping us keep this vital services going and to our front-line workers and volunteers who are working hard to ensure everyone’s waste continues to be dealt with safely and responsibly.
And when you see our crews please give them a wave, or a shout out to let them know that we all appreciate what they are doing.
Thank you waste disposal men for all that you’re doing, I’m very grateful