Stroud District Council's bulky waste collection service has re-started after a temporary pause at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bulky waste collection is a paid-for service for items that are too large for the normal household waste collection. It costs £25 to have up to three items collected from your home.

"It is likely that demand for the bulky waste service will be high, so please expect to wait for a collection slot, and please help the crews by placing your items as close to your boundary as possible," said Cllr Simon Pickering, chair of Stroud District Council's Environment Committee.

"Also, please consider whether your items are suitable for re-use. If you have furniture that could be collected and re-sold by a charity such as the Furniture Bank, please hold on to them until those organisations are able to take them."

Crews were diverted from the paid-for service to ensure that household waste and recycling was collected during the peak of the pandemic - the council has one of the best recycling rates in the country, and a full service has been run throughout.

"The crews have worked incredibly hard to ensure the weekly waste and recycling continued running, and I'm proud to say we achieved that," said Brendan Cleere, the council's strategic director of place.

"It was important to concentrate our resources on keeping essential services running, but we are now able to introduce more services."

As part of the phased re-opening of the county's Household Recycling Centres (HRCs), planning for the safe operation of the site at Pyke Quarry, Horsley is underway with the aim of re-opening the site by the end of May.

To book a bulky waste collection please see https://www.stroud.gov.uk/environment/bins-rubbish-and-recycling/bulky-waste-collection-service