A CONCERNED employee has hit out at SUEZ and Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) for closing its Taunton depot and moving staff to Bridgwater as part of the rollout of Somerset's new Recycle More service.

SUEZ, a utility company which operates largely in the water and waste management sectors, and SWP have announced that a Taunton waste collection depot in Walford Cross is being temporarily closed to allow for upgrade works needed to bring in the new Recycle More service.

The service is due to come to the Taunton area at the end of September this year and as a result staff at the Taunton depot are being moved temporarily to a depot in Bridgwater.

SWP said the works are being done as the depot needs more space and new machinery to deal with the extra recycling that Recycle More generates. They said the move is temporary and will last for around six months.

But the employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims the two companies have 'no concern' about the effect the move will have on the spread of Covid-19 and it is 'disappointing' that they were unable to postpone the move until it is 'safer.'

"This move is due to take place in the coming weeks, right in the peak of a pandemic and involves moving around 100 staff to a new site, in a different location, to mix with an equal number already based in Bridgwater," the employee said.

"Somerset Waste Partnership or Suez appear to have no concern with regard the effect that this will have on the potential spread of Covid-19, much less the impact this will make to collections in the Taunton area.

"It is very disappointing, that with all the hard work and extra hours that have been worked by the workforce during the last year.

"All through the previous lockdown and now into a new lockdown, the two companies are unable to postpone this move until safer times.

"The spread of the virus is quite bad in Somerset this time and with the government asking for people to take greater care it seems that it does not apply to waste workers.

"It’s quite scary to think that staff from one town can be moved to another which has a higher rate of infection while SWP staff work from home. No care of their employees at all."

SUEZ and SWP are redeveloping and updating depots and transfer stations across the county to meet Somerset's recycling needs over the next decade.

They have already completed the redevelopment of their Evercreech depot in the east of the county.

Matt Canning, regional manager for SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK, said they have 'carefully planned the move to keep staff safe and avoid any impact on household collections.'

"The next phase of the redevelopment programme sees our crews based in Taunton relocate to Bridgwater, initially to a temporary facility in mid-January and, longer-term to the site at Colley Lane," Matt said.

"Here we are creating a purpose-built depot that will serve as the base for collection crews covering both Bridgwater and Taunton.

"In turn the Taunton site is being redeveloped as a transfer station with new sorting equipment to handle the increased recycling from the Recycle More service.

"We have carefully planned the move to keep staff safe and avoid any impact on household collections.

"We began speaking to staff about the change last summer to give an opportunity to ask questions and air any concerns about the move.

"The health and safety of our people is paramount and we’re very mindful of concerns about Coronavirus, particularly with this most recent lockdown.

"In addition to our current Covid-19 control measures such as keeping crews operating in bubbles, encouraging social distancing, good hand hygiene and ensuring all crews and offices have supplies of hand sanitiser, we are introducing additional measures to keep all our staff at Bridgwater safe.

"We are reducing the number of people who need to be on site by requiring crews to meet their driver at an agreed pick up point on route each day, instead of starting and ending their days at the depot.

"During the pandemic, the teams covering Taunton and Bridgwater will effectively operate as two separate depots on one site by using different offices within the depot and having different start times. We will keep this under close review.

"In terms of household collections, the move does not affect these, collection days and routes remain the same."

A spokesperson for SWP said the move will have no impact on collection services.

A spokesperson for SWP said: “Collection crews and depot staff are key workers delivering an essential service at a time of crisis.

"We value their hard work and commitment hugely and their safety is paramount.

"Throughout the pandemic we have followed government guidance closely and worked with all our contractors to ensure that they do, too. Suez is an international, market-leader with considerable experience.

"We have every confidence that it is closely monitoring the situation and taking the necessary steps to protect its staff at all times while continuing to provide this essential service.”