A national shortage of plastic has caused a lack of blue recycling bins for Denbighshire residents . 

Chemicals used to manufacture plastics are currently in short supply, due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. 

Plastic pellets are used in a wide range of products, varying from plastic bags to medical equipment, but a surge in demand has led to a shortage, compounded by the national driver crisis. 

Residents have been issued with ‘sacks’ for their recycling waste whilst delays are dealt with.  The shortage could last up until November.

A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council apologised for the delay. 

“The national shortages of plastic meant we have experienced much longer delivery dates for blue bins. However, we have taken a delivery of an outstanding blue bin load on Monday (October 4) from our suppliers,” he said.  

“Due to staffing shortages, it could take us until the end of this month to issue all of the outstanding blue bins on our system, but we are prioritising them where we can and have issued sacks as a temporary measure to those households that need it. 

“The council is also continuing to work with a third-party contractor to help carry out bulky waste service requests due to driver shortages.  Whilst the backlog of service requests has reduced since August, availability of drivers cannot always be guaranteed every day, and this can increase wait times from the usual 5-10 working days.” 

He added: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused and would ask residents to visit the council website to view the regularly updated estimated waiting times.”

Residents can visit denbighshire.gov.uk for more information.