Five new members of waste and recycling staff for Torbay start this week while existing staff have also been working extra hours to get waste and recycling collections back on track.

Three new drivers and two new loaders have started with SWISCo this week, while crews along with Highways colleagues, worked extra hours over the weekend to help catch up on food waste collections. The service is being reviewed on a daily basis and all 22 rounds have gone out this week.

SWISCo is a company wholly owned by us and provides a range of frontline services including waste and recycling, highways, parks and green spaces.

COVID rates continue to be high with 1,195 per 100,000 people testing positive in Torbay, this is affecting waste and recycling collections at SWISCo who have seen 4 members of staff test positive so far this week.

Councillor Mike Morey, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Environment and Culture, said: “We are pleased to say that the first of our new staff have now been recruited and start this week and our colleagues at SWISCo are working hard to get services back on track – even Highways staff have joined in to lend a helping hand. It’s been a challenging time with high COVID rates and ongoing driver shortages, but I would once again like to thank local residents for your patience.

Collection progress is being reviewed on a daily basis, please continue to leave your containers ready for collection.