Thousands of blue recycling bin collections missed in Barnsley after festive disruption
Barnsley Council has confirmed that around 60,000 blue recycling bin collections will not be completed following disruption to waste services over the Christmas and New Year period.
The council said the way bank holidays fell over Christmas meant it lost three normal working days when bins would usually have been collected. To try to catch up, all waste collection staff were offered voluntary overtime.
While some staff did volunteer, the council said there were not enough to clear the backlog fully. As a result, priority has been given to grey bins for general waste and brown bins for food waste and packaging.
Blue bins that were due to be collected between 30 December and 9 January will now not be collected and residents have been asked to bring them back in until their next scheduled blue bin collection.
The council has also asked residents not to leave extra cardboard beside bins, as it will not be collected. Instead, householders are being encouraged to break down boxes to create space or take bulky cardboard to a Household Waste Recycling Centre, with the council saying it is working to extend opening times.
The authority warned that further disruption could be possible due to weather conditions, with the Met Office issuing amber and yellow snow warnings.
Apologising to residents, Councillor James Higginbottom, cabinet member for environment and highways, said the decision not to return for missed blue bins had not been taken lightly.
He said: “It was always going to be the case that there was likely to be disruption over the Christmas and New Year period because we lost three working days due to where the bank holidays fell. Unlike some councils who pause services altogether, we made every effort to collect as many bins as possible.
“All of our waste collection staff were offered voluntary overtime and I’m really grateful to those who came forward. Unfortunately, we didn’t get enough volunteers to completely catch up scheduled collections, which has left around 60,000 blue bins uncollected.
“When we had bad weather last January, we tried to come back for every bin, but bins were left out for too long and residents didn’t know when collections would happen. We’ve had to find the quickest way to get services back to normal within the resources available.”
He added that the council’s focus is now on restoring grey general waste and brown mixed recycling bin collections to their usual schedule.
Opposition groups have criticised the council’s handling of the disruption. The Barnsley Liberal Democrats said that while some delays are expected over Christmas, bank holidays occur every year and should have been planned for.
In a statement, the group said it was “unfair and distasteful” to suggest blame lay with staff not volunteering for overtime, arguing that wider underlying issues had not been addressed following months of disruption in late 2024 and early 2025.
They also raised concerns about advice given to residents on disposing of excess cardboard, saying not everyone is able to travel to a recycling centre due to age or health.
Councillor Jake Lodge, an independent councillor for Worsbrough, said residents in his area were particularly affected.
He said: “This is an incredibly frustrating update. The three bank holidays come round every year, so the question is why it has taken so long to update residents.
“I’ve been working to ensure we get as many collections as possible across Worsbrough, but for those still waiting, it is wrong. Worsbrough is also home to the borough’s largest Household Waste Recycling Centre, so the impact here is felt more strongly.”
The latest disruption follows problems at the start of 2025 when freezing temperatures and snow led to more than 100,000 missed collections across the borough. That backlog cost the council more than £40,000 to resolve, with additional spending on temporary staff and vehicle hire.
At the time, the council said the situation was worsened by the introduction of its “Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero” programme, which slowed collections but improved crew safety. Services were fully restored by mid-March.