In a statement released on its website, but not communicated directly to the media or attributed to the council leadership or the lead cabinet member, RBG said:

From today, your blue top recycling bins are likely to be collected every two weeks until further notice.

We are significantly short-staffed due to us having a number of HGV driver vacancies, which means we can’t complete all our rounds each day. We’re working hard to fill these posts but the national shortage of HGV drivers is proving challenging for many sectors.

We understand that this short-term change may seem confusing, as we recently announced that we’ll be making changes to your black top general waste bin collections next year. There is still lots of preparation we need to do to make that transition as smooth as possible for our residents.

In the meantime, collecting your blue-top recycling bins every two weeks will allow us to deliver the best service we can while those preparations are still underway and we’re facing these staff shortages.

If your recycling bin is full before we get to you, please if you can, keep any extra recycling until it can fit into your blue bin. Make sure it’s all clean and dry.

You can also take it to one of our bring sites or our Reuse and Recycling Centre.

We ask for your understanding at this challenging time and hope to be back on track as quickly as possible.”