BROWN bin collections will start up across Aireborough, Horsforth and parts of Wharfedale next week

Garden waste collections, which Leeds City Council had suspended to help it focus resources during the COVID-19 lockdown, are to resume from Monday, May 25.

Extra crews have been recruited to help cope with the backlog and new routes, originally due to be introduced earlier this year before the coronavirus outbreak interrupted the plan, will be in operation.

The routes will include new housing developments and have required some changes to the collection dates.

All households with a brown bin collection were due to be sent a letter beforehand notifying them of the changes.

But residents are also being advised to check online to see what their new collection days will be, with details available at www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/bins-and-recycling/.

The council’s bulky waste collection, meanwhile, restarted this week and is being run free of charge while coronavirus-linked restrictions are still in force. Booking slots are limited, however, and residents are being asked to keep and store any waste they possibly can for now.

Announcing the resumption of both services earlier this month, Leeds City Council’s Director of Communities James Rogers said: “We have had 3.2 million bin collections over the last four to five weeks and that has led to a 20 percent increase in waste that we have had to deal with.

“The brown bin garden waste collections are scheduled to start operating again from Monday, May 25.

“We are going to introduce new routes - we have been doing work over the last year to make sure we can have an extended garden waste collection.”