Wiltshire recycling collections suspended due to ongoing strikes

It comes after picket lines caused disruption outside Hills Waste depots in Calne, Trowbridge and Salisbury.

The current industrial action has impacted the county's waste collection services and this has had a knock-on effect for other collections during the coming days.

As a result, Wiltshire Council and Hills Municipal Collections has announced it will temporarily suspend recycling services in order to prioritise household waste collections. 

The service is expected to resume again in the week beginning March 21.

READ MORE: Video emerges of waste truck allegedly hitting bin strikers

If people have already put out their black boxes and blue lidded bins they should take them back in until their next scheduled collection date.

When recycling collections do resume, the waste teams will accept additional recycling materials that have been stockpiled during this time.

This means people will be able to leave out additional materials in separate bags/suitable containers by their bins if they can't fit it in their containers.

'We know it is not ideal'

Councillor Dr Mark McClelland, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for waste, said: "Despite the industrial action, we still have managed to complete many waste rounds across the county, and we thank people for their patience as we look to catch-up on those missed residual household waste collections as quickly as possible, and these have to be the priority.

"Due to the position of the pickets at Churchfields, it meant that frustratingly no vehicles were able to get through at that depot on Monday, which resulted in police being called to the site. This has had a knock-on effect on our collection services. Similar difficulties with vehicles being blocked from leaving were experienced at the Riverway depot early on Tuesday morning.

"We always expected that collections during this period were going to be fluid and we apologise for the inconvenience this is causing, but we're doing everything we can to minimise the disruption during this complex and unprecedented time.

Strikers prevent lorries from leaving Trowbridge depo this morning. Photos Trevor Porter

"One of our contingency plans, which we hoped we wouldn't need to implement, was to temporarily suspend recycling services. This means we can prioritise general waste collections, and people should leave their general waste bin out at 7am on their usual collection day, and it will be emptied - though it may be a day or so late.

"We know it's not ideal but we ask that people keep their kerbside recycling back and take their black boxes and blue lidded bins in until their scheduled collection day after March 21, or please take the materials to your nearest household recycling centre, as they are operating as normal.

"This dispute is between Hills and the GMB Union, and we hope it is resolved as quickly as possible, so residents can continue to benefit from the range of collections we provide."

This change does not affect general household waste or garden waste collections. 

For the latest updates on any disruption or changes to waste collection services, people are asked to keep an eye on Wiltshire Council's Twitter feed at twitter.com/wiltscouncil

Details about Household Recycling Centres can be found at wiltshire.gov.uk/household-recycling-centre-locations