Heatwave hits Greenwich bin collections as London borough warns of weather-related delays

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A London borough has warned residents their bins might not get emptied because of the scorching heatwave.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich said staff were "working hard" and would catch up "as quickly as possible".

It was unclear why the hot weather was affecting services but one resident said the smell where she lived was "awful".

'There is no rubbish piling up'

A council spokesperson said: "Like many services, the heat is affecting staff that work outside. Our staff are continuing with their duties but to keep them safe they are taking more frequent breaks to get out of the heat, rest and rehydrate, which means that some of our rounds will take slightly longer to complete.

We have been keeping our residents updated via our social media channels. We will continue to do this until we are fully caught up with any outstanding work.

There is no rubbish piling up in the streets, and all delayed collections are being taken care of as quickly as possible.

"We appreciate everyone's understanding during this time. We will always endeavour to return the next day to collect missed bins, if possible. Where this is not possible, we will try to catch up during the same week and at the weekend."

On Wednesday London Mayor Sadiq Khan triggered a severe weather emergency response, typically activated when temperatures plummet to freezing in the winter, to support rough sleepers in the capital in the heatwave.

City Hall has written to all London boroughs and rough sleeping services to ask them to conduct welfare checks on vulnerable people and provide sunscreen, water and information about staying cool and safe in the high temperatures.

Mr Khan said: “This ongoing heatwave could be dangerous for anyone, but for people sleeping rough, there are additional risks.

“Across the capital, we are taking action to assist those forced to sleep rough in these extremely high temperatures, by increasing welfare checks, providing plenty of water and sunscreen, and ensuring people sleeping rough know where to access cool spaces and water fountains.”

The warning for extreme heat for much of England and Wales is now in place from Sunday until the end of Tuesday, with the hot spell expected to peak on Monday or Tuesday.

Forecasters believe there is a 30% chance the mercury could pass the current UK record of 38.7C (101.7F).

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