Overview
- Local councils including BCP and Swindon have reported ongoing delays to waste and recycling collections as crews struggle to operate in the current heatwave.
- Councils say temperatures build up inside compacted refuse trucks and speed food-waste decomposition, which forces crews to work more slowly and raises the risk of vehicle faults.
- BCP Council also cited staff shortages and warned that food-waste collections are among the most affected, asking residents for patience as teams work under constrained conditions.
- Authorities have issued practical guidance: leave missed bins at the kerb, check online lists of missed roads before reporting, BCP has asked residents to present bins by 5am on collection days, and crews will run weekend catch-ups with outstanding collections due early next week.
- An amber UK Health Security Agency heat-health alert remains in effect and the agency has warned the high temperatures could cause significant impacts across health and social care services.