ASKING householders to squeeze more rubbish into their bins is among the measures to tackle "critical" waste collection issues.

Staff working overtime and new recruits are also being introduced as another 4,000 bins were missed in Dunfermline last week – adding to the 50,000 that weren't picked up in the previous five months in the Kingdom.

A combination of factors are giving Fife Council's service a major headache and leaving some residents with an eight-week wait before their recycling is collected, with householders advised to flatten the contents to fit more in or take their waste to a recycling centre themselves.

The convener of the City of Dunfermline area committee, Councillor James Calder, said: "Fife Council has ambitious targets in increasing recycling but we are not going to reach that if people can't recycle.

"Last week, thousands of residents in Dunfermline were unable to recycle paper waste in the Halbeath/Duloch areas or compostable waste in Pitcorthie.

"This is a real problem and at the moment there seems to be no attempt at a short-term solution to make sure people don't have to wait double the time for their recycling to be picked up.

"Simply promising more vehicles months down the line won't cut it for residents right now."

Last week, 2,000 grey bins and 2,000 brown bins were not picked up in the city and Cllr Calder said he had raised the issue at the full council meeting and "will continue to push for a solution to be put in place as soon as possible".

His wife, fellow Lib Dem Dunfermline councillor Aude Boubaker-Calder, added: "It is unacceptable to ask people to wait eight weeks for grey/green bins and four weeks for brown bins in the summer to be collected.

"Many will be completely full after their normal cycle.

“A solution to this problem is now becoming critical. We need to encourage recycling and this is doing the opposite.”

Fife Council service manager Sandy Anderson said: "Over the last few months, we have struggled with challenges including staff shortages and industry-wide difficulties sourcing equipment to repair lorries. New vehicles ordered for the fleet have also been delayed due to national supply issues.

“There is also a national shortage of HGV drivers which is making it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain staff to drive our lorries. This is affecting industries across the country and unfortunately there is no quick fix.

“In the short-term, we are working with our recruitment team to help fast-track people into waste collector roles which should help ease some pressures on the service and we are asking staff to work overtime.

"I’d thank everyone for their patience and understanding while we work hard to keep the service running as best we can, and we would encourage Fifers to keep recycling and making use of local recycling centres if necessary.”

The council's spokesperson for environment and climate change, Cllr Jan Wincott, added: "It is disappointing to hear that routes were missed last week despite the best efforts of staff working overtime at the weekend, and I'm working closely with service managers to try and find ways to resolve the situation.

“While we are in these challenging times of COVID, staff absences and vehicle breakdowns, I would encourage everyone to continue recycling their waste by making sure boxes, cans and plastic bottles are all squashed flat to maximise the capacity of their bins."