HOUSEHOLDERS in the town have been reassured all bin collections apart from recycling put in boxes will continue as normal.

Many commenting on social media had questions following the local authority’s announcement that recycling collections would be made once every four weeks instead of two for the foreseeable future – with Labour councillors presenting many of the queries their residents had asked them.

Swindon Borough Council has put a list of frequently asked questions on its website which addresses many of those.

It says the reduced collection frequency is necessary because several members of the waste staff have been asked to self-isolate by the NHS Covid-19 Test and Trace app.

That shortage has been compounded by “the current UK-wide shortage of HGV drivers, meaning we are unable to recruit agency drivers to replace our own staff who are currently unable to work."

All other waste collections – black wheelie bins or blue bags for normal household waste, clinical waste, food waste for houses taking part in the trial scheme, plastic recycling, and garden waste for those who pay for it – will be collected as normal on a fortnightly basis.

To check on when a street’s next recycling box collection is made, householders can look up their street on an A-Z listing on the FAQ page.

And, because extra recycling will build up, it can be put out in non-official containers.

The council said: “During this period the recycling crews will be collecting additional recycling, providing it is sorted correctly and presented in sturdy containers, for example: large plastic storage tubs, cardboard boxes (for paper and card only), large buckets or bags – as long as materials are separated (eg glass in one bag and metal in another bag).

"Please also ensure bags aren’t too heavy or overfilled.

Cardboard can also be put out if broken down into “manageable pieces tied up and placed neatly” next to the boxes.

There will be no limits on the number of boxes or the amount of recycling are household can put out for collection.

The webpage says one small side-benefit to the last two years has been a significant increase in recycling collected at the kerbside. It says: “That has been as much as a 25 per cent increase in some weeks.

"We are urging residents, where possible, to store their recycling ready to put out for their next collection. This will help limit the short-term impact of this temporary change on the borough’s recycling rate.”

The website doesn’t give an end date for the four-week cycle.

Find the answers can a tswindon.gov.uk/info/20015/bins_rubbish_and_recycling