The effects of the national HGV driver shortage, coupled with the continuing impact of the pandemic, are starting to be felt across Dorset Council's waste services as collection rounds feel the strain.

In Dorset, some crews are regularly having to work overtime and often at weekend and these pressures also come on the back of a year of increased household waste as more people stay and work from home.

Dorset Council senior officers recently briefed local MPs on the issues currently impacting waste collections, street cleansing and bin deliveries, in the hopes that a long-term solution can be found.

Recruitment of drivers in Dorset has always been challenging, particularly due to high local housing costs, but the current widescale staff shortages across all depots are unprecedented. The Council currently has multiple vacancies for drivers and loaders across its waste services team.

Some garden waste collections are having to be temporarily suspended or delayed to that crews can support rubbish, food and recycling collections. Litter bins are also being emptied less frequently in some areas of the county.

Councillor Jill Haynes, Dorset Council's portfolio holder for customer and community services, said: "Emptying the bins for almost 380,000 Dorset residents will obviously present challenges from time to time, and we are proud to provide one of the best kerbside collection services in the country under normal circumstances. But I'm afraid the current situation is both unprecedented and unsustainable.

"While we will continue to ensure that Dorset's waste is dealt with as best we can and do whatever is necessary to address local concerns, we need action to be taken by central government to address the national driver shortage and help to mitigate the continuing effects of the pandemic.

"I want to thank the hard-working waste services crews and admin staff, who are doing a brilliant job under very difficult circumstances, and assure them we are doing all we can to support our frontline staff while these problems persist.

"I also want to thank the people of Dorset for their patience and understanding as we tackle the issues at hand, most of which are outside of our control. We will continue to provide updates as the situation changes and ask that people report any missed bins so they can be kept up to date with what's happening with their collections."

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