Household and Recycling Collections to Return

The collection of both grey household and blue recycling bins are set to resume across South Tyneside from next week.

The Council is looking to reinstate the fortnightly collections from Tuesday 27th February 2024, with residents having either their blue recycling or grey household waste bins collected - depending on each area.

Residents are advised to check their postcode on the bin collections calendar at www.southtyneside.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling when the calendar is reinstated this Friday (23 February). Residents can also contact the Customer Contact Centre on (0191) 427 7000 (Monday - Friday 8:00am - 6:30pm) or email customer.help@southtyneside.gov.uk.

The bin collection calendar has been temporarily suspended due to ongoing industrial action being taken by the GMB and Unite unions and grey bins have been prioritised in recent weeks to prevent further build-up of general waste which presents a greater public health risk.

People are asked to check the calendar and present the correct bin on their normal day. If bins are not collected on their scheduled day, then residents are advised to keep presenting their grey or blue bin (Tuesday - Friday) until it is collected.

A Council spokesperson said: "We thank everyone for their understanding over the last few months. We appreciate that residents have been patient, managing their waste and supporting changes in collection patterns.

"From next week we are looking to bring back the alternate fortnightly collections in line with the bin collection calendar. This will allow us to reinstate the blue recycling bin collections which have been impacted over recent months.

"The Recycling Village provision with additional slots and double the number of visits per month for households with cars will remain in place while disruption continues.

"There are hundreds of booking slots currently available daily.

"We appreciate not everyone can get to the Recycling Village which is why we appeal for people to support each other and help family, friends and neighbours if they can, or store materials until blue bin collections resume." 

The Council alongside the GMB and Unite trade unions are committed to trying to resolve the ongoing dispute. Although all parties acknowledge the progress, dialogue and engagement to date, issues remain unresolved and so industrial action continues.

Should planned industrial action go ahead in future, residents will be updated.

The Council's Customer Contact Centre is experiencing a high volume of calls relating to the industrial action.

To support staff to deal with other calls, residents with waste related queries are encouraged to visit the Council's website at www.southtyneside.gov.uk in the first instance where they will find further information including a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).