A COUNCILLOR has described how the coronavirus outbreak has recently hit a local authority’s household waste and recycling collection teams.

Councillor Barry Hunt, cabinet member for neighbourhoods at Redcar and Cleveland Council, said there were 21 Covid-related absences among 36 members of staff currently off work.

In an update provided for members of the council, Cllr Hunt said: “We are trying to push and do our job, but this isn’t the same as last time.

“It’s up and down – yesterday there were 34 off, tomorrow it could be 25 because of people coming back after two weeks [isolation].

“It disrupts delivery of the services.”

Cllr Hunt said throughout 2020 the council had continued to provide a fortnightly collection service for all household waste and recycling, despite the pressures from Covid-19.

He thanked council staff for their “continued hard work and dedication”, adding: “The impact of Covid has had a significant impact on the way services have been delivered and it has also seen demand in some areas increasing, such as waste and recycling, or dealing with a backlog when services such as green waste were suspended for a period of time.

“This will continue to be a feature in the coming months and may require services to be prioritised and adapted in order to respond to changing circumstances.”

Cllr Hunt’s update described how there had been a significant increase in waste tonnages collected from residents’ properties because of the two national lockdowns this year and the continued emphasis on people working from home.

This meant the amount of household waste collected was up by more than eight per cent and recycling by more than 14 per cent year-on-year.