Due to the national HGV driver shortage caused by Brexit & Covid-19, we have taken the decision with Veolia to temporarily merge recycling and rubbish collections at some blocks of flats across Merton. This is always a last resort, and we apologise for any inconvenience, but would like to assure residents that all bins will be emptied as usual.

We would stress that this only affects those living in flats with communal bin areas.

The driver shortage has left many councils unable to find enough drivers to complete usual collections, and the council has plans in place to maintain services in the event of issues like this. Merging recycling and rubbish collections in just a few areas allows us to ensure bins are still emptied and taken away. We are not suspending any of our collection services, and this change is only temporary.

We’re working closely with Veolia – who are running additional recruitment campaigns here to find drivers at http://www.veolia.co.uk/careers – and neighbouring boroughs to minimise the impact on collections.