North Lanarkshire bin collections axed as drivers do school bus runs
- Published
Some bin lorry drivers are being drafted in to take children to school
Recycling bin collections have been suspended in North Lanarkshire as lorry drivers are redeployed to drive school buses.
It comes after Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) failed to find bus drivers for more than 40 primary and secondary school routes in time for the start of term last week.
The staff shake-up means blue bin collections will halt for three weeks.
The council has apologised to affected residents.
It announced on Sunday, external that drivers who currently transport additional support needs (ASN) children will drive a recently procured fleet of 10 coaches.
Blue bin lorry drivers will be redeployed by the local authority to drive ASN pupils.
The recycling collections will be suspended until 12 September.
The council has asked residents to dispose of paper and card in their general waste bins or take it to a recycling centre, if possible.
A spokesperson said: "The council has secured additional buses for transport to and from mainstream schools from today (Monday 22 August) and is supplying trained and correctly qualified drivers to support SPT for some routes."
Appropriate escorts will be on board buses where the driver has not been subject to the checks required to work with children, the council stated.
The spokesperson continued: "The numbers of pupils affected has reduced and we are working with SPT to secure the remaining routes.
"The redeployment of some of our drivers means we have taken the decision to suspend our household blue bin service, which collects paper and cardboard.
"This means that households will only miss one of their blue bin collections over the next three weeks. There will be additional capacity at our recycling centres to accommodate residents using them for paper and card."
Further disruption is expected in the coming days as North Lanarkshire waste and recycling workers represented by both Unison and the GMB go on strike.
'It's detrimental to us and our children'
Lorna Kettles is among the parents affected by the bus cancellations
Lorna Kettles, whose son is starting his first year of secondary at Chryston High School, says many pupils are still waiting to get a place on buses.
The Stepps resident criticised a "massive failure" of communication since they were informed on Tuesday night that there would be no bus the following morning.
She told BBC Scotland: "Some of the kids have been lucky but we still don't have a place on the bus so for the rest of the week I'm going to have to send my son on the public bus.
"It's not great on the council to then say we're going to stop your bin collections for three weeks so we can get the kids to school.
"That's not right. It shouldn't be an either/or situation.
"And, also, we're aware the refuse workers might strike. And that's fine, they're absolutely entitled to do that, but if they strike that will have a further impact on the bus."
She added: "Ultimately, it's detrimental to us as parents but to our children more than anything."
The school bus routes were cancelled on Tuesday, the day before pupils returned to class.
SPT apologised, external and said it was trying to secure transport on a temporary emergency basis for pupils.
North Lanarkshire Council complained that SPT only informed the council of the issue the night before schools reopened and branded it "wholly unacceptable."
SPT said several bus operators had declined approved and awarded contracts at short notice.
Taxi contractors for ASN schools also withdrew from their contracts at short notice due to a lack of qualified drivers.
An SPT spokesperson said on Monday: "SPT has now put arrangements in place for the vast majority of children to get to school while we continue to source cover for outstanding mainstream school contracts in the Lanarkshire area.
"SPT has secured vehicles to cover the majority of routes, leasing 10 coaches from Parks of Hamilton. We are, along with North Lanarkshire Council, providing qualified drivers for these coaches."