Bin collection delays could last until autumn after Brexit and pandemic causes driver shortage

By Tara O’Connor, local democracy reporter

Delays to bin collections in Sutton and Croydon could last until the autumn due to a shortage of HGV drivers.

A combination of Brexit and the pandemic has been blamed for a shortage of qualified drivers as training, recruiting and keeping drivers has become more difficult.

While the impacts of this have been felt across South London; Sutton and Croydon’s shared depot has been especially affected.

The councils are part of the South London Waste Partnership with Veolia operating the service.

A spokesperson for the company said: “This challenging situation is likely to continue for some time, and we are working hard together to address the problem and hope to see improvements to the service by the autumn.

“Veolia is actively recruiting and training new drivers to ensure a stable workforce for the future. In the meantime, we would like to thank residents for their understanding and patience and assure you that we will do everything we can to collect your recycling and general waste on, or as close to, your scheduled collection day as possible.”

The company said it will monitor the number of drivers and when there are shortages food and general waste will be prioritised.

Today (Tuesday, July 27) recycling collections have been affected in CR0, SM2, SM5 and SM6 postcodes.

And collection of recycling from flats are delayed in some parts of SM1, SM2, SM5 and SM6.

When bins aren’t collected they should be left out to be collected on a later day including at the weekend when crews will be making extra collections to catch up.