Luton Borough Council
Bin collections during severe weather conditions
We try to maintain bin and recycling collections regardless of the weather, but when conditions are judged as dangerous for our crews, we sometimes need to delay bin collections until conditions improve.
In the event of severe weather, we make every effort to collect your kerbside waste. If safety concerns mean we can't, we'll catch up as soon as possible.
Do make full use of your neighbourhood recycling centres for all your recyclables, or household waste recycling centres (tidy tips) for all other waste.
Find a neighbourhood recycling centre or tidy tip in Luton Where street cleansing is suspended due to bad weather conditions, vehicles and staff will be diverted to gritting.
What should I do if you don’t collect my waste on the normal day because of the weather?
Please leave your bin in the usual place for collection and we'll collect it as soon as it is accessible and safe to do so. If this isn't possible (due to space, cluttering the roads etc) bring it in overnight.
Can you tell me which day my bin will be collected after you’ve missed my normal collection day?
We try to catch up on missed collections as soon as possible, but this depends on the accessibility of individual roads and routes.
This can change on a daily basis during the adverse weather period. As we collect from over 80,000 households we can’t guarantee when collections are interrupted.
I’m expected to drive to work when there’s snow and ice. Why can’t your crews collect my bin?
The average car weighs between 1 and 2 tonnes whereas our refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) weigh over 25 tonnes. They need a higher level of control, especially on small roads with parked cars on either side.
We don't send crews out when there is a risk of danger to pedestrians or damaging our residents’ property or vehicles.
We want to ensure that our collection crews are safe and won't encourage them to collect waste when it isn't safe for them to do so.
Why can’t the RCVs be fitted with snow tyres or chains?
The time taken to fit and remove snow tyres or chains would be significant because of the varying conditions on the roads during adverse weather.
Some local authorities were still unable to collect waste even when their vehicles were fitted with snow tyres, so there would be limited benefit to our vehicles having snow tyres.
Once the weather conditions have improved, can you catch up on bin collections within the week?
Whilst we try our best to catch up on missed collections as quickly as we can, we have a limited workforce and number of vehicles.
We operate at maximum capacity, using all vehicles available to collect the missed bins, and will collect on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays if needed.
If we've missed a full cycle of collections, ie two weeks, we'll collect extra bags left as side waste.
Is there a risk of maggots if my bin isn't collected?
If we miss a collection due to adverse weather conditions, it is likely that waste high in water content (such as food) will be frozen in the residual bin and will not harbour maggot larvae.
You can double wrap any food in your bin if you're concerned. Don’t forget you can put all your uncooked fruit and vegetables in your compost bin.
© 2024 Luton Council, Town Hall, Luton LU1 2BQ