The leader of Southampton City Council has said recycling collections could now be affected as they try to fix the ongoing bin chaos.

Large swathes of the city have seen rubbish piling up in the streets, due to a change in binmen's working practices.

Under the previous system, known as ‘task and finish’, crews would leave at 1pm if they had finished their tasks.

However, since January 29, binmen now can’t clock out until the end of their shift which is either 3.36pm or 4.06pm depending on their role - which is actually now causing delays.

Explained: Why bins have gone uncollected for weeks

Now, the leader of Southampton City Council has issued a statement updating on how they are doing with solving the problem.

Councillor Lorna Fielker said there is still some disruption in ‘patches of areas across the city’.

She said council staff are doing ‘everything they can’ to clear the backlog and excess waste and street cleansing teams are supporting to clear waste and the litter off the street.

She said: “Crews will be mobilised over the coming weekend to empty bins that were missed throughout the week.

"We are prioritising clearance of residual waste arising from missed bin collections, rather than mixed recycling.

“We understand how frustrating this is for residents and urge people to keep reporting their missed bin collections online.”

READ MORE: 'It's been 3 weeks since binmen did our road' - Anger as system change leads to chaos

Residents who have not had their waste collected have been asked to keep their bins on the boundary of their properties with the lids closed with any excess waste to be bagged up and placed next to the bin for collection.

READ MORE: 'It's an absolute nightmare': Residents still fuming at bin collection chaos

Alternatively, they can be placed in the bin once it has been emptied.

She added: “Once again, I apologise for the inconvenience caused to affected residents. Resolving the situation and getting your collections back to normal remains an absolute priority.”

The change in system has caused bin chaos all over the city, with Vesela Ivanova, 55, who lives on Cracknore Road, describing it as ‘an absolute nightmare’.