People are being encouraged to dispose of their glass safely and sensibly following a month long suspension of collections.

East Hampshire District Council is facing driver shortages and as a result, glass collections have been suspended.

Contractor Norse SE has a shortage of staff who are qualified to safely drive and load the refuse collection vehicles to collect waste, recycling, garden waste and kerbside glass.

As a result, people in Petersfield are being asked not to put their glass out for collection but to make use of local bottle banks.

Here at PeCAN, we are keen to encourage people to safely and sensibly dispose of glass and to ensure glass is recycled and not thrown away.

In a statement, East Hampshire District Council leader councillor Richard Millard and chief executive Gill Kneller said: “The difficulties we are experiencing with our waste collection are continuing and we know that this is impacting on you, our residents.

“We have decided to prioritise waste, recycling and garden waste as our key services. 

“We have taken the difficult decision to suspend glass collection for a month. This will allow time for us to recruit more staff with the incentivised packages now being offered.

“We are very sorry for what is happening, and we want to reassure you that everything possible is being done to bring the service back to the standard we expect.”

Some old bottle banks which were recently removed have been temporarily returned and council officers will regularly check bottle banks to ensure they are being emptied.

The council said that driver pay has been raised by approximately 22% and a cash incentive is now being offered to new starters.

Loaders will also be offered an 11% pay rise in a bid to help recruitment and to prevent the council losing even more drivers.

Meanwhile, new larger bottle banks are to be installed across the East Hampshire area to encourage and improve glass recycling.

Picture: Petersfield's Shine Radio