Where bin collection rules are changing due to UK heatwave

Councils across the country have made changes to their bin collection rules as the heatwave is set to bring record-breaking temperatures to the UK.

A red warning for extreme heat has been issued for Wednesday and Thursday across parts of the South of England, the Midlands and Wales.

Temperatures are forecast to exceed 37C and likely rise to 38C, or even 40C, in some areas over the next few days.

Some councils in areas affected by this red weather warning are making sure those doing the rubbish and recycling collections will not be working at the hottest time of the day.

Authorities including Cheltenham Borough Council, Somerset Council and Bristol Waste have announced they will be starting rounds from as early as 4am so refuse workers can avoid the extreme weather.

South West

Somerset Council will be starting their collections at 6am and will be stopping them at midday on Wednesday and Thursday. Any leftover waste will be collected later in the week, according to the council’s website.

Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts said: “The safety and wellbeing of our crews, site staff and residents is our priority during this period of extreme heat.

“We’ve worked closely with our contractors, and don’t make changes to arrangements lightly. Waste collection and working at recycling sites is physically demanding work, and closing recycling sites to the public during the hottest part of the day is a sensible step to help keep residents and staff safe.”

In Bristol waste collection will be starting at 4am on Wednesday and Thursday and stopping when it is no longer safe to work.

“Keeping our colleagues safe from dangerously hot working conditions is our absolute priority, so we have made the decision to alter shift patterns,” Bristol Waste said. “Crews will collect in the cooler part of the day and pause work when it is no longer safe for our colleagues.”

Cheltenham Borough Council will also be starting its rounds an hour earlier at 6am instead of 7am to avoid the heat. It has also made the decision to start earlier during any future periods of hot weather throughout the summer.

Councillor Steve Harvey, cabinet member for waste, recycling and green open spaces, said: “As a result of the hot weather our waste and recycling collections will start earlier than usual in the mornings.

“This is to help our crews and vehicles cope in the heat and ensure that they’re able to complete the scheduled collections. Residents are asked to put their recycling boxes, food caddies, refuse and garden bins out for collection at kerbside by 6am.

“Our crews will do their very best to be as quiet as possible whilst out collecting earlier in the morning.”

South Gloucestershire council cancelled its recycling collections for Wednesday and said it will only be prioritising food waste, black bins and garden waste, due to the heatwave.

West Midlands

Shropshire Council said bin collections will start at 6am on Wednesday and Thursday and finish by midday due to the “unprecedented heat”.

The council added that there will be no garden waste collections during the extreme gear so that the garden waste crews can help with the collection of recycling and general waste.

East England

Bin collection crews in Tendering will be starting their rounds at 6am this week. In a post on Facebook the council explained the changes were in place to help “beat the heat”.

“Households with collections on those days are asked to put out their waste and recycling by 6am (instead of the usual 7am), to help our colleagues stay cool,” it added.

Central Bedfordshire council has also issued a note on its website that bin collections will be starting from 6am rather than 7am between 19 and 26 June, due to the hot weather.