Council's four-day week trial to affect bin collection dates in Gamlingay

Bin collection dates in Gamlingay are set to change.

The four-day week trial at South Cambridgeshire District Council is set to expand to waste collections next week.

The shift in working patterns means more bins are collected on Tuesday to Friday, with changes affecting around 80 per cent of homes across the district.

Among them is Gamlingay whose bin collection day will change from Wednesday to Thursday from next week.

The council began a three-month trial in January after only being able to fill around eight out of every ten of its staff vacancies.

Not being able to fill vacant posts – or using agency staff to cover them – proves expensive and disruptive.

In answer to this, the council began the four-day-week trial which has since been extended to March next year.

A report to be discussed at Friday’s Employment and Staffing Committee shows the council has now filled nine of the 23 posts that could not permanently be recruited to before the trial began. Filling these posts means the council expects to spend £550,000 less on agency cover this year.

All residents who are affected by next week’s changes have been sent a letter and can also check their bin collection arrangements online.

The changes also follow a review of bin rounds which are typically completed by all councils every few years. This considers new homes that have been built across the area and ensures bin collection rounds continue to be carried out as efficiently as possible.