South Gloucestershire Council have issued an update regarding the bin strikes which have troubled South Gloucestershire residents this summer.
SUEZ Waste Collection Strikes 2023
Following unsuccessful negotiations over pay, Suez employees began their strike on the 12th of June 2023, and were originally intending to continue their strike until early September.
This industrial action resulted in residents across South Gloucestershire and the wider south west of England going without waste collections for weeks. Many local Sort-It centres were overwhelmed by recycling drop offs, and Little Stoke tip was forced to temporarily close. One councillor from Warmley went so far as to call the situation a “public health crisis”.
The End of the Strikes
As of July 28th 2023, the strikes were suspended following discussions between Suez and Unite and the calling of a ballot on the newest pay offer. Unite Officer Ken Fish said that “as an act of goodwill our members have agreed to suspend strike action while they are balloted on the new offer.”
The new pay offer has now been accepted, and the strikes have finally been called off in South Gloucestershire.
Waste Collections Reinstated
Kerbside waste collections have now been reinstated in South Gloucestershire as of July 31st.
South Gloucestershire residents can now place their bins out for collection on their usual days.
If you are unsure of the collection days for your street, you can search your postcode on South Gloucestershire Council’s Waste & Recycling Collection Dates page to find out when your next collections are due.
However, due to a high backlog of waste, it may take collection crews longer than usual to complete their collections. Any recycling which is not collected this week will not be revisited by collection crews, but must be taken back indoors and put out for the next collection the following week, says South Gloucestershire Council.
Refunds on Council Tax Bill?
Many people have been asking South Gloucestershire Council whether they will be entitled to a refund on their Council Tax bills as their waste has not been collected.
South Gloucestershire Council have issued a statement in response to these queries, saying that a refund is “not applicable” as “Council tax is a statutory charge based upon the occupation and/or ownership of property and is not dependent upon the supply or indeed non supply of a particular council service.”
For More Information…
For more information on this situation and for any further updates from South Gloucestershire Council, pleas visit their webpage on Waste Service Disruption.
Further Updates
03/08/2023
South Gloucestershire Council has issued the following informational flyer regarding the industrial action and the resumption of waste collections:
