Thousands of homes across Gwynedd did not have their recycling and food waste collected this morning over a row about expired operator’s licence discs.

Gwynedd Council’s waste collection and recycling service workers refused to set out on their usual 5.30am shift on Thursday after discovering that the identity discs on their refuse vehicles had expired the day before without being replaced.

It is understood that it wasn’t until around 8.30am that the dispute was resolved and the vehicles set off on their daily rounds, resulting in a delay of around three hours.

Gwynedd Council confirmed that it had not been possible to complete all collections in the Arfon area, with residents asked to leave their recycling and food waste bins out on Saturday (3 July).

A Gwynedd Council spokesman has since confirmed that the authority has an operator’s licence for its entire fleet, with the latest discs now in place on all vehicles.

But one member of staff, who did not wish to be identified, said: “All of the drivers decided they couldn’t set off with expired discs as they feared it could lead to a fine and even potentially end up in front of the Traffic Commissioner.

“With around 15 vehicles based at Caernarfon alone, they stood firm until the whole issue had been sorted out but meaning all the lorries were late setting out.

“I’m sure this will cost a fortune and it seems like quite a big oversight.”

The new discs note that the vehicles are licensed up to 2026.

A Gwynedd Council spokesperson added: “We appreciate that there was a delay early this morning (Thursday), but following a pre-use check by our drivers, renewed operator licence discs (expiry date 30/6/26) were issued to all vehicles.”