The Reading Borough Council has confirmed significant delays to garden waste collections affecting households across Reading, Berkshire, this week. Officials are asking residents to leave their green bins and bags at the kerbside until crews are able to complete the rounds.
The council acknowledged the borough-wide issue on February 12, 2026, following a surge in reports of missed collections. The delays have been blamed on a combination of vehicle problems and staff shortages caused by sickness and vacancies. Crews have also been slowed down by high volumes of debris left behind by recent winter storms.
Residents can look for rescheduled collection dates through the RBC Bin Calendar & Rescheduling Tracker. However, the council has warned that these dates may shift daily as catch-up teams work through the backlog. The issues are particularly affecting areas with many gardens, including Caversham, Tilehurst, and Emmer Green.
The garden waste service is a paid subscription that costs most residents approximately £60 to £70 per year. These current problems follow a major overhaul of bin routes that took place in June 2025. Councillor Karen Rowland, the Lead Councillor for Environmental Services and Community Safety, previously stated that the 2025 changes were designed to make the service more efficient and easier to manage during staff shortages.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
