The council has continued to collect garden waste for as long as possible with the staff and resources that we have available.

With the ongoing issues of driver shortages and staff absence due to both sickness and leave, following an incredibly challenging 18 months,we now have to prioritise the collection of food waste, general waste and recycling which is a statutory requirement.

When you say garden waste collections are a discretionary service, and other types of waste is statutory, what does that mean?

A statutory service means that by law, the council has to provide a service to collect this waste. A discretionary service means that the council isn’t legally required to carry out the collection service, but chooses to. In this case so that we can recycle and compost as much waste as possible.

What can I do to help?

If residents are able to bring their garden waste to either Lamby Way or BessemerClose, this will help us clear the backlog.  

To help with this, from Monday, August 23, Cardiff Council is:

·       Increasing the annual allowance for visits to 30 per household rather than 26

·       Increasing the available slots per day from 400 to 570 (up 42.5%);

·       Allowing households to make a booking, and visit on the same day where slots are available

·       Allowing households to visit up to 3 times per day (this is currently limited to 1) and:

·       Increasing our opening times to 6pm, with last slot for drop offs at 5.30pm (this is currently 4pm)

These new changes will only apply if you are visiting in a car.

You will still need to make an appointment to visit the recycling centres at www.cardiff.gov.uk/recyclingcentres. You will need to bring your booking confirmation, this can be a digital version, along with proof of Cardiff residency e.g. your driving licence.

Can residents pay a company to remove their garden waste instead, while the service is suspended?

Residents are able to pay a company to dispose of their green waste if they choose, but residents must make sure they are using a reputable company that holds a waste transfer licence, and provide a waste transfer note to give details of the licensed facility where the waste is going to be brought to.

If any waste is found to be fly tipped, and can be traced back to where it was produced, the resident could be prosecuted for the offence. If residents are unable to bring their garden waste to the recycling centres, we ask them to store their garden waste in the confines of their property until garden waste collections resume. 

Are the current problems caused by the change to waste collections, moving to a 4-day week?

 No – this isn’t linked to the new collection rounds. This is due to the shortage of HGV drivers affecting the whole of the UK.

Why doesn’t the council have a contingency plan? Don’t you have any staff that hold a HGV licence in other areas that can be re-deployed to cover the collections?

The council does have a contingency plan in place, with a list of staff that hold a valid class 2 HGV licence. These staff are being re-deployed to help to clear the backlog of garden waste over August, but many are currently using their licence in their current role working for the council. Work is also underway to build resilience through training and recruiting additional staff. Unfortunately, as a result of Brexit there is a national shortage of HGV drivers, placing unprecedented pressure on all hauliers as well as all waste collection authorities.

What are we meant to do with our garden wasteif we don’t have a car to get to a recycling centre?

We ask residents to store their garden waste in the confines of their property. Residents with larger gardens could look into composting their garden waste at home.

What about all of the leaf fall in the autumn? What are we meant to do with this waste?

The council will aim to offer a monthly garden waste collection from September under the winter regime, so leaf fall can be put into residents’ green bin and it will be collected over the winter period. Further details will follow once available.