Adverse Weather

We will continue to carry out collections where it is considered safe to do so. Your normal collection times may vary so please put bins out by 7am unless otherwise advised.

Snow and Ice

The roads may be too dangerous to bring bin lorries along and could put pedestrians, children, other vehicles and our crew at risk.

Even though the road appears clear the pathways may be dangerous for our crews to collect bins, blue bags or food waste caddies.

An increase in parked cars on streets during bad weather can also stop vehicles from safely getting into or out of a street.

Extreme Heat

As guided by the Met Office, the crews may start collections from 6am to limit working in the hottest part of the day. This also allows the crews to take extra breaks to rest and rehydrate if needed.

We will put out messages on our social media pages in hot weather and will also update our webpage - please subscribe to web page updates here.

Floods

Although the collection vehicles are large, they struggle sometimes to get through flood water and can get water-damaged which results in the vehicle being taken off the road for costly repairs.

Also, there is a risk to crews if they disembark the vehicle into flood water of hidden obstacles, potholes and exposed drains.

If we can’t access your bins, blue bags or food waste caddy due to flood water, please place them out once the water subsides and we will empty them as soon as we can.

We will try and work around flooded areas, using alternative routes, where possible.

High Winds

This can cause issues with bins, blue bags or food waste caddies blowing over or away. On very windy days, we would ask you to consider whether they need to be put out on that collection day or can wait until the next one if, for example, they are only half full.

If they do need to be put out, please place them in a sheltered yet visible spot.

If there is no shelter at the kerbside, place bins in clusters with your neighbours if you can.

If we can’t collect your bins, blue bag or food waste caddy because of the adverse weather conditions

• please consider if your bins, blue bags or food waste caddy need to be put out for that particular collection or whether they can wait for the next collection
• if needed, please put your bins, blue bag and food waste caddy out for collection on the scheduled days
• if they are not collected, please leave them out - they will be collected as soon as it is safe to do so - Saturdays and Sundays may also be used to catch up on collections where possible
• if we have not emptied your general waste bin (usually green) for more than one collection, up to three black bags of side waste will be taken from beside that bin on the next scheduled collection
• although the road and pavement conditions may improve significantly, service catch-up across the borough can take a few days to complete

Advice regarding recycling and waste in the event of a service disruption

• if your food waste caddy becomes full, please put excess food waste in the green bin until the normal food waste collection service has resumed
• double bag food waste, disposable nappies and other perishable waste - once cooled, pour fats, drippings, and grease into glass jars or plastic bottles with lids
• remove any recyclable or non-perishable waste from your green bin to allow more storage, for example, for disposable nappies
• make use of home compost bins for vegetable and fruit peelings, tea bags, cardboard, and paper if one is available to you
• rinse out and securely bag excess recycling, this waste will not perish or smell and can be stored safely away from combustible materials - when your recycling collections start again please place these materials loose (not bagged) into your blue bin or bag as appropriate - please note that only excess cardboard, broken down to the same size as your blue bag and bundled, can be taken from beside your recycling bin, all other recycling will need to be contained in the blue bin or the blue bag for paper and cardboard
• make use of the Household Waste Recycling Centres to dispose of excess waste - in times of bad weather, please call 0300 111 8000 or check Recycling centres - Staffordshire County Council (staffordshire.gov.uk) to ensure the sites are open before you set off