Garden waste collections resume on Monday, September 13, Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) has confirmed.

Subscribers should ensure their garden waste bins are ready on their first scheduled collection day in the fortnight after September 13.

Collection days can be checked via My Collection Day at somersetwaste.gov.uk.

The fortnightly collections were suspended for six weeks allowing redeployed staff to support rubbish and recycling collections that have been disrupted by the national driver shortage, Covid pressures and other factors.

The extra staff have played a key role as collections get back on track and SWP would like to thank the county’s 56,000 garden waste subscribers for their patience.

Subscriptions have automatically been extended by eight weeks – the extra two weeks to recognise the disruption at a busy time of year.

SWP has issued advice that, despite the suspension, it is important that garden waste bins are not overloaded. Heavy bins (more than 40kg) can break vehicle lifting equipment and become a serious danger to crews and the public.

The weight may be too much if gardeners have repeatedly compacted their green waste or added contents and let it settle. If crews consider this to be a risk, the bin will not be collected until the weight has been reduced.

Extra garden waste capacity will continue at Somerset’s 16 recycling sites until after collections restart, with site users encouraged to avoid the busiest periods. Traffic can be checked with the queue cams covering nine of the busiest sites: somersetwaste.gov.uk/recycling-centre-queue-cams.

Mickey Green, SWP managing director, said: “This has been a really difficult time and we again thank the public for their patience and crews for their hard work.

“Authorities up and down the country have been affected, and while it is still challenging here in Somerset, things are getting back on track.”

Any missed collections should be reported, online if possible, using the My Waste Services feature at www.somersetwaste.gov.uk

The national driver shortage is a long-term issue made worse by Covid, which has delayed driver training and testing, and the departure of many EU drivers.

Somerset’s hard-working crews have been collecting more waste throughout the pandemic as people spend more time at home. That makes it harder to complete rounds and means they have been working extended hours for many months.

For information about job opportunities in Somerset with SWP’s partnership contractor Suez ivisit www.suez.co.uk/en-gb/join-our-team-in-somerset.