BIG, bulky rubbish is being collected again in southern Oxfordshire after services were stopped due to the coronavirus for several weeks.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils have reopened their paid-for bulky waste collection service for large household items and are also issuing a warning about fly-tipping while other outlets for domestic waste remain closed.

The bulky waste collection service was temporarily stopped to allow the councils’ waste contractor, Biffa, to prioritise kerbside household collections while members of their bin crews were off sick or self-isolating.

According to the council, Biffa has now ‘built up sufficient resilience in its workforce and can now provide the paid-for service again’.

The service is being regularly monitored but it could be suspended again in the future if staff are off ill again.

Waste and recycling centres across South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse areas are still closed, along with charity shops and their donation banks.

This has meant there are fewer places to dispose of unwanted items that do not fit into kerbside collections.

The councils have issued a warning to anybody tempted to fly-tip, including leaving rubbish next to litter bins, that they will investigate and prosecute.