SWAPPING from weekly bin collections to fortnightly pick-ups is ‘on the cards,’ the council has said.

For the past few months, residents have been complaining to Slough Borough Council about missed collections, leaving their bins to ‘overflow’ and attracting rats.

The local authority has apologised numerous times via social media and blamed a “severe staffing issues” and the “inability” to secure enough interim staff to cover their absent workforce.

A council spokesperson said: “We don’t have enough permanent staff and we can’t get enough agency staff in.

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“When we do get agency staff in, sometimes they’re there, and sometimes they are off sick or, being agency staff, they go to other places who need agency staff on short notice who probably pay more than we do.

“When we do have people off sick, it makes a big difference.”

The issues have been ongoing, triggering whispers that the council is planning to swap from weekly to fortnightly collections.

Slough is one of the few local authorities remaining to keep a weekly pick-up as others have swapped to fortnightly collections, such as the neighbouring Windsor and Maidenhead.

Slough Observer:

Bracknell has gone one step beyond and has waste collections every three-weeks.

A Slough Borough Council spokesperson said the fortnightly swap is ‘on the cards’ as the local authority is needing to find £20m savings a year until 2029.

However, they confirmed the council is not planning to make the swap this year but could not rule it out in the future.

The spokesperson said: “We’re one of the only places within the country that doesn’t have fortnightly bin collections and our financial situation means that there is nothing that won’t look at.

“But if we’re going to change, then it would have to be done right and people will get an awful lot of warning.

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“It wouldn’t be one of those things where everyone wakes up one morning and we’ve changed it, that wouldn’t work.”

They added if the council was bringing forward plans swap to bi-weekly, a report will have to go to cabinet for approval.

Previously, the Colnbrook and Foxborough Conservatives claimed the council would swap reduce the service to bi-weekly from June.

However, a council spokesperson said at the time: “We are not going to fortnightly collections in June. No decision has been made on when, or even if, Slough will move to fortnightly bin collections.”