ONE East Lancashire council says the shortage of drivers may force the suspension of recycling rounds.

Bin collections in the Ribble Valley could be changed with the suspension of paper and cardboard collections, as a temporary measure to deal with the shortage of bin lorry drivers.

That was one of the options suggested at the community services committee meeting when councillors and officers discussed a range of possible options to deal with the loss of almost 50 per cent of bin lorry drivers over the past four months.

Six out of 13 bin lorry drivers have resigned. The council has advertised and secured four new drivers. However, two of the new drivers have since decided to leave and another driver could also go, the council has said.

Pay levels,  gaps created by the departure of European drivers from the UK, new coursework for drivers and strong demand for short-distance parcel and food delivery drivers were among the factors cited for the shortage and churn of drivers.

John Heap, director of community services, spoke to councillors at the meeting.  He said: “This is not unique to us. There is a national shortage of large goods vehicle drivers. The shortage has been attributed to various causes including circumstances faced by long-haul transport companies in the post-Brexit world and the Suez Canal issues.  Drivers from central and eastern Europe have left the UK and some of their jobs have been taken by people who previously did not work on long-distance routes. There is also strong demand in the UK for short distance drivers for firms such as Amazon and for bakeries. Those are the roles where some of our drivers have gone – short distance delivery routes.”

Replying to various councillors’ suggestions to plug the gap, Mr Heap said: “Whatever happens I have tremendous faith that our council workforce will deliver.

“It might not be 100 per cent of the usual services. We had to suspend paper and cardboard collections in the pandemic lock-downs. It was unpopular and we will avoid it, if possible. But I don’t think we will have to cut back the basic service. We cannot pretend that it’s not a problem. It is getting hard to recruit. However,  the council is not a bad place to work.”

The council has a statutory duty to collect domestic refuse and to offer recycling collections of at least three materials.

Councillors agreed that officers should explore various driver recruitment options as efficiently and speedily as possible.