WAVERLEY Borough Council is warning residents to expect "probable" bin delays leading up to Christmas.

The borough’s waste contractor, like many others around the country, has been dealing with challenges caused by the national HGV driver shortages.

In addition, the continuing Covid-19 pandemic and the winter flu season are both now also causing staff absences, the council has said.

In October, The Road Haulage Association (RHA) estimated that the shortfall in HGV drivers now stands at over 100,000 nationally, mainly due to a backlog in HGV driver testing due to Covid-19 and there has been no improvement.

Waverley says it has fared better than most councils affected with HGV driver shortages, with services being maintained since temporarily suspending its garden waste in January at the height of the pandemic.

Where residents have experienced delays to any collections, the council aims to collect bins within a day or so of their usual collection.

Councillor Steve Williams (Green, Godalming Charterhouse), portfolio holder for environment and sustainability, said: “Waverley, like many other councils across the UK, but also many national companies, continues to face challenges due to the national HGV driver shortages and ongoing sickness absences due to Covid-19.

“On top of this, with the winter flu season now also upon us, we expect a difficult period leading up to Christmas and would ask residents to please be patient; the support they have shown during this difficult time has been much appreciated by us and our bin crews.

"Our contractor, Biffa, has been working hard to mitigate the effects of the pandemic and the driver shortages in Waverley. We would ask residents to please continue their efforts in reducing or reusing waste and composting as this helps both our bin crews and the environment.”

The council is asking residents that if their bin has not been collected, to leave it out and Biffa will collect it as soon as possible.

This extends to leaving out uncollected Friday collections on the Saturday.

Any waste collection disruptions are updated on the council’s website and social media.