Chorley bin collections delayed due to "severe" HGV driver shortage

Chorley Council said its crews were unable to pick up garden waste from homes in Clayton-Le-Woods and Buckshaw Village on Monday (August 23) because its waste contractor FCC Environment was unable to find enough HGV drivers for its lorries.

But the authority has assured residents that any uncollected bins will be picked up during additional rounds on Saturday (August 28).

The shortage of HGV drivers is a national problem and continues to affect local authorities and businesses right across the country, including supermarkets, high-street shops and restaurants.

A Council spokesman said: "As a result of the national shortage, we unfortunately have had to delay our Garden Waste collections for properties in Clayton-Le-Woods and a small number of properties in Buckshaw Village.

"Any collections intended for Monday (August 23) will now take place on Saturday, August 28.

"All other bin collections will remain as usual.

"We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience."

Earlier this month, South Ribble Borough Council (SRBC) warned residents that it was "on the verge" of suspending garden waste collections due to the national HGV driver shortage.

Like its neighbour Chorley, South Ribble also contracts its waste collection services to FCC Environment and said bin collections had become "unsustainable" due to the "significant and rapidly deteriorating shortage of HGV drivers" available to drive its refuse collection vehicles.

"Despite our best efforts with retaining and recruiting drivers, plugging gaps and exhausting the option of temporary and agency drivers, we are now on the verge of suspending garden waste collections," warned the Council in an open letter urging the Government to take "immediate action" to resolve the crisis.

So far, SRBC has not had to suspend or delay any of its bin collections. But it has warned that the situation remains "extremely challenging" and it is "managing it on a daily basis".

The Council said FCC are "actively working with agencies to recruit new drivers".

A spokesman for FCC Environment said: "There is a severe shortage of qualified HGV drivers that’s now causing widespread disruption for many businesses across the country.

"This has been brought on by a combination of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors exacerbated by both changes to immigration regimes and a backlog of training and testing drivers.

"We need more trained HGV drivers now to support all of our activities across the UK, including our domestic waste collection crews and household waste recycling centres."

FCC has launched a recruitment drive as it seeks to take on qualified HGV drivers. You can find out how to apply and learn more about its "generous benefits package" here.

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