The current backlog in waste and recycling collections across B&NES must be dealt with swiftly, Conservative Councillors day.

It follows news released last week that the service is currently hampered by delays due to a shortage of staff.

In response, the Conservative Group on B&NES Council has called on the Liberal Democrat administration to ensure the backlog in kerbside collections is dealt with quickly and that proper procedures are put in place to mitigate the effects of staff shortages.

Cllr Vic Pritchard, Leader of the Conservative Group on B&NES Council, said: “This service is an extremely important one to residents and the Council should be making every effort to ensure the backlog of collections is cleared as soon as possible.

“While it’s true that waste services across the country have been hit by a national shortage of drivers, neighbouring Councils seem to be coping much better. It’s vital that the Lib Dem administration urgently puts procedures in place to mitigate the effects of staff shortages, and to

ensure the service is able to resume at full capacity as soon as possible.”

Conservatives say that whilst the delays are being blamed on a nationwide shortage of drivers, B&NES Council was, at the time of writing, the only authority in the South West advertising for drivers – suggesting other authorities are coping just fine.