Residents who live in Lichfield District and Tamworth Borough will need to put their bins out by 6am on their collection day from now on.

Through the Lichfield and Tamworth Joint Waste Service, Lichfield District Council and Tamworth Borough Council are asking that residents from across both areas to put their bins out by 6am rather than by 6.30am on their collection day.

This is so bin collections can be staggered throughout the morning to allow waste and recycling crews to social distance.

Cllr Richard Cox, Lichfield District Council’s Cabinet Member Responsible for Waste, said:“We’ve moved the start of our bin rounds forward by 30 minutes so our crews can start their rounds at different times, to make sure we are operating in a covid-secure way.

“I’d like to thank everyone in advance for their help with this, however, as many bins go out the night before, most households shouldn’t notice the change.”

If a household’s bin is not out by 6am, and it is not collected, the team cannot come back to empty it at a later time.

However, if a bin was put out by the right time, does not contain the wrong waste, and has not been emptied by 3.30pm, it can be reported as a missed bin online atwww.lichfielddc.gov.uk/reportor by calling the team on 0345 002 0022.

To find out more about bin collections, and what can go in each colour bin, visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/bins.