WELL-prepared refuse collectors managed to clear all scheduled collections from green and black wheeled bins with the exception of a small number of roads by Christmas Eve.

WELL-prepared refuse collectors managed to clear all scheduled collections from green and black wheeled bins with the exception of a small number of roads by Christmas Eve.

St Albans council’s portfolio holder for environment and sustainability, Cllr Melvyn Teare, told this week’s meeting of the cabinet that the decision to suspend recycling box collections which had been taken on Monday, December 20, meant that extra resources could be put into the green waste and refuse collection.

A winter resilience plan was put into operation in the event of heavy snow following problems which emerged last year when many roads waited several weeks for their refuse and recyclables to be collected.

Among the new initiatives was a decision to issue all operatives with snow shoes and purchase a large quantity of gritting salt which was carried in a number of refuse vehicles and allowed inaccessible roads to be gritted prior to returning the following day.

Cllr Teare said so far the district council had used only a third of the salt stock. He added: “We are very grateful to all those who have worked hard to maintain the collection service during challenging weather conditions. We will be reviewing the position after the catch-up has been completed this week.”