Milton Keynes Council have revealed that waste collections will continue across the upcoming weekend, with teams also working on Sunday as an exceptional measure to try and resolve the ongoing issues.
In a statement to MKFM, a council official said: "As updated yesterday, Serco suspended the collection of food and garden waste for today and tomorrow. This has enabled the 7 additional refuge vehicles to now be reassigned to collect the backlog of either black or pink sack waste on top of the 18 existing refuge vehicles and 10 support vehicles. Later this evening we will receive details from Serco to show us how much of the backlog they have recovered today."
"Today senior colleagues have again spoken with Serco Directors to reiterate the importance of rectifying the service urgently. This afternoon, Serco requested that they be allowed to undertake collections on Sunday to enable them to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."
"We have liaised with the operators of both the Waste Recovery Plant and the Materials Recycling Facility who have agreed to the opening of their plants so, whilst not ideal, we have agreed to Serco’s request."
"We deeply apologise for any inconvenience this might cause some residents on Sunday, but we feel this will enable the speediest solution to resolve the serious waste collection problem we are continuing to experience."
"Colleagues from both the Council’s Waste and Communication teams have agreed to volunteer to come in over the weekend to support, monitor and take any enquiries. At this moment in time, we do not know how many of Serco’s staff and operatives have volunteered to come in on Sunday yet but we will continue to provide updates over the weekend as more information becomes available."
The update comes as questions were asked about both Serco and Council's handling of the matter. Earlier today, the leader of the Conservative group on Milton Keynes Council said that the Council had been 'so slack' in dealing with the situation.
