Chesterfield Borough Council issues statement after Covid bin suspensions

Chesterfield Borough Council was forced to halt green bin collections from yesterday (Wednesday, January 5) in order to prioritise black and blue bin rounds.

The authority says the suspensions are due to staff absence at its contractors and it hopes the situation will quickly return to normal.

A council spokesperson said: “Our green bin collections have been suspended for the rest of this week in order to prioritise the collection of recycling and general waste.

"We are working with our contractor who like many employers nationally, are facing challenges regarding staff absence resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We hope to resume green bin collections next week but if this is not possible we will share further updates on the council’s website and social media pages.”

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The council faced some criticism from residents when the story broke – although others praised the decision to prioritise black and blue bins.

Paul Woolf posted on our Facebook page: “My green bin has been empty since September so it makes sense.

“Has anyone got anything in their green bin?”

However, some people said they would suspend paying Council Tax.

Simon Birley said: “We should suspend our council tax then due to Covid.”

Luciane Shoeria added: “Can we suspend paying Council Tax and council rent due to self isolation? Asking for a friend.”

Mick Fletcher posted: “Cool, I’ll suspend my Council Tax. What's good for the goose must be good for the gander.”