Bin collections disrupted after major fire at Luton waste depot

Bin collection services have been disrupted following a major fire at the Kingsway waste depot in Luton on Saturday.

The blaze started just after 7am with nine appliances quickly on the scene. Roads were closed and some residents evacuated due to heavy smoke. Council staff and emergency services worked throughout the weekend to restore services at the depot but are unclear when the facility will be fully operational.

A spokesman said: “Unfortunately due to the impact of this major incident bin collections services have been affected. We have put in place plans to minimise disruption as much as possible. However, until we can determine the extent of the damage following this major incident we are unclear when the facility can be brought back into full operation.

"At this stage we are prioritising collecting outstanding bins from last week, communal and high rise from today and from Tuesday we’ll prioritise domestic collections of household, recycling and garden waste. We realise how frustrating it is for people if their bin isn’t collected on the date they expect and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience but we hope to significantly catch up so collections can run as scheduled from tomorrow onwards.”

Councillor Tom Shaw, portfolio holder for recycling and waste at Luton Council, said: ”Firstly I want to stress how relieved we are that no-one was hurt as a result of the fire at Kingsway depot. I would like to thank the emergency services who were on site promptly and worked hard all day to bring the fire under control and to minimise the disruption to local residents.

" I also want to express my gratitude to our staff who worked tirelessly over the weekend to not only try and minimise the disruption to such an important council service, but also for their work setting up an emergency assistance centre for those residents evacuated from their homes.

“This has not come at a good time as we have been trying to catch up with rounds due to staff shortages but want to ask for people’s understanding. Our crews have worked extremely hard over the last few years during incredibly difficult times; we are one of only a few councils that maintained all household collections despite the impact of Covid and staff shortages. We are absolutely committed to maintaining our services but please bear with us if there is an occasional delay.”

Additional crews are out from today emptying domestic general waste bins currently overdue for collection. Staff will also be collecting general waste from high-rise flats and communal bins plus catching up on outstanding green recycle bins. Kerbside glass collections are currently suspended; people are asked to use a local glass recycling points until rounds are back to normal.

Bulky waste collections that have already booked will be collected. No new bookings will be taken until arrangements are put in place. Meanwhile, people are asked not to bring wood to either of the tidy tips, as the area used for sorting wood at Kingsway will be prioritised for dealing with household waste instead.

Recycling and garden waste services could be running behind, as disposal of waste collected may take longer than usual. However, street cleansing has not been impacted.