Garden waste collections are to be suspended amid the continuing coronavirus crisis.
With household waste and recycling collections continuing as normal for residents in Waveney, East Suffolk Council and East Suffolk Norse have temporarily suspended the collection of garden waste.
The final round of garden waste collections will take place on Friday, March 27.
The council is also temporarily suspending its food waste and glass collection services which are provided in parts of Lowestoft.
Residents with a separate food collection are advised to place this waste in the black bin for the time being.
These changes will ensure that all vehicles and crews are being used to collect household waste and recycling during the current restrictions.
When garden waste collections resume, subscriptions will be ‘rolled forward’, which means that a new annual payment will only be required once each subscriber has received their full quota of 12-monthly collections.
James Mallinder, East Suffolk council’s cabinet member for the environment, said: “In these unprecedented times we must get the balance right between delivering essential services and safeguarding the health of our staff and communities.
“Fewer collections ensure that our crews will spend less time in close proximity to each other, which then reduces the risk of spreading the virus and creating further disruption to our teams.
“We appreciate that stopping this service will cause some inconvenience but we sincerely hope that everyone will understand that this is being done to safeguard wider public health.”
Mr Mallinder also confirmed that there are no current plans to stop the collection of recyclables – however the council will continue to monitor the situation.
Additionally, he hopes that people will give some thought to what they purchase and the build-up of household waste.
Sign up to our Facebook group via https://www.facebook.com/groups/NorfolkCoronavirus/
Subscribe to our daily coronavirus newsletter, with all the latest from where you live visit https://t.email.archant.co.uk/lp/EDP_News_Alerts
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here