Blue recycling bins will once again be emptied every week after the council revealed its staffing levels had been better than expected during the coronavirus pandemic.

Barnet Council announced at the end of March that blue recycling bins would be collected every fortnight to ensure black refuse bins could continue to be emptied every week.

The change came following a reduction in the number of staff available following the outbreak of Covid-19.

But the council has now reversed the decision after revealing staffing levels were better than it had anticipated – meaning weekly recycling rounds will resume on residents’ scheduled collection days.

People have been asked to leave their bin at the boundary of their properties from 6am on their collection day as normal.

Environment committee chairman Cllr Dean Cohen (Conservative, Golders Green) said: “We would like to thank our frontline and operational staff for their hard work and commitment during these unprecedented times, which has allowed us to return to weekly collections so rapidly whilst also ensuring weekly black refuse bin collections continue.

“We would also like to thank all those residents and their children who left pictures and messages of support on their bins, which were greatly appreciated.”

As of Thursday (April 16), there is no change to the status of garden waste collections, which have been temporarily stopped.

Council officers will continue to monitor the impact of the epidemic on a daily basis, meaning further changes to the waste service could be made.

For more information, visit www.barnet.gov.uk/recycling