A NUMBER of Worcester refuse workers have been told to self-isolate, after one of their colleagues tested positive for Covid-19.

As a result there will be some disruption to bin collections in the city over the coming days, potentially lasting until Friday, November 27 according to Worcester City Council.

The council is giving priority to the collection of black bins, in which residents put non-recyclable waste. These bins will be emptied on the normal scheduled day, or as quickly as possible afterwards, and residents are asked to leave their black bins out.

Green bins, for recycled waste, are not expected to be emptied for the next few days. At this stage, residents are asked to take in these bins and put them out for collection again on the next scheduled day.

Brown bins, for garden waste, will also not be collected. The city council will be contacting the customers of this paid-for service in the coming days and will be making arrangements for catch-up collections.

Councillor Joy Squires, chair of the city council’s environment committee, said: “We have to take proper precautions to protect our staff and our residents, and limit the potential spread of the virus.

“Unfortunately this means there will be some unavoidable disruption to this important service and I want to apologise to our residents. All of us at the city council are aware of how vital the bin collections service is, and we are working hard to keep it running as well as possible.

“The top priority is to empty black bins and we will ensure we get to all of these, even if in some cases it is a few days later than normal. If your black bin is not emptied on the normal day, please leave it out.

“The recycled waste in green bins can be left for longer, so for now we are asking residents not to put these bins out until the next scheduled recycling collection. If we are able to get to green bins sooner we will release updated information at www.worcester.gov.uk.

“Unfortunately we are also not able to make collections of brown or trade waste bins either. We will be contacting customers of both of these services in the next few days and making arrangements for catch-up collections.”

The paid-for bulky waste collection service has also been suspended. Customers who had already booked for this service have been contacted and told that their collection has been postponed.

Residents can look up when their bin collection day is at www.worcester.gov.uk/recycling-waste.