Diss councillor urges residents to think before they do their lockdown spring cleaning

A district councillor has said an increase in the number of people decluttering their homes during the UK-wide lockdown is making more work for refuse collectors.

Keith Kiddie, who represents Diss and Roydon, is urging households to ‘think before they throw’ as people use their spare time in isolation to empty their garages, lofts and cupboards – resulting in bins routinely being overfilled.

Cllr Kiddie said: “There’s a lot more to deal with because people are sorting out the cupboard under the stairs, or sorting out the loft.

“People are having a clear out of their shed and suddenly find eight cubic metres of stuff they don’t need.

“They would normally take these things to charity shops, but, of course, they are all closed now.

“As a result, we’ve certainly noticed a small rise in waste. The idea is to ‘think before you throw.”

Cllr Kiddie added that, while refuse services are currently operating as normal, if staff begin to fall ill with coronavirus, certain collections could be cut.

He said: “Are we worried about the bins not being emptied? It depends on how many people we lose over the course of the pandemic.

“If we had to prioritise services, the first to go would be garden waste; the next lowest priority is recycling, as that can be stored.

“What people have to get rid of is residual waste, so that’s the priority.

“Our main goal is to keep the bins being emptied as normal.

“At the moment, things are working reasonably well. We have changed the working hours so all of or crews don’t start at the same time in the morning.”

He added that, under new health and safety guidelines set out in response to the coronavirus crisis, bin lorries can no longer have three people in at a time, meaning one must travel behind the lorry in a separate car.

“It’s an added complication,” he said. “It will add a bit more time and effort, but it’s better than having a whole crew knocked off by the virus.

“We have got to be realistic and flexible – our main aim is to make sure the most vulnerable people are cared after.”