No waste and recycling collections as staff strike over pay dispute

Due to national strike action over pay, there will be no waste or recycling collections in Orkney today (Friday).

This will affect areas 13 and 15 for refuse and area 5 for recycling and commercial waste.

There will be no litter bin emptying throughout the county today either.

An Orkney Islands Council spokeswoman said: “The HWRCs are open, however full skips cannot be emptied so do not leave your rubbish there but come back another day please. We will try and update as quickly as possible if skips become full.

“Given today’s action, it is likely that we will face a similar situation on Monday, August 29. This will mean possible disruptions for Westray alongside Mainland areas one and six for refuse and area nine for recycling.

“Updates will be provided as quickly as we can.

“Please hold on to your rubbish and recycling if you can folks as we cannot guarantee additional runs will be possible given the limited resources — however, officers are looking at various options and, again, we will advise as we can.

“The action is in response to the ongoing national dispute in relation to a pay award for Local Government staff for the year 2022/23 which is negotiated between the Trade Unions and CoSLA as the umbrella body for Local Government.”