East Herts Council award recycling and street cleansing contract to Veolia
East Herts Council’s new waste, recycling and street cleansing contract has been awarded to Veolia Environmental Services - saving up to £1.5 million per year over its seven year term.
Veolia, the UK’s largest recycling and waste management company won the contract against stiff competition. The company will also be investing £3 million in a new vehicle fleet to serve the contract.
The council has been able to make this major saving in no small part due to residents’ dedication in sorting, recycling and reducing their waste since the introduction of ARC (Alternate Refuse Collections) in November last year.
East Herts Council’s director of customer and community services, George Robertson, said: “We’re delighted to award this contract to Veolia and look forward to an excellent working relationship with them throughout the life of the contract.
“The company is a respected operator in its field and the new contract will maintain a high quality service for our residents while delivering substantial savings for the council.”
Jean-Dominique Mallet, Veolia Environmental Services’ UK chief executive, said: “We are delighted to win this new contract which reflects our commitment to innovation and gives us the opportunity to build on the already impressive recycling performance.
" Through the use of improved in-cab technology we aim to deliver further operational efficiencies and environmental benefits for East Herts Council and local residents.”
Residents will be able to carry on using the same bins and boxes when the new contract begins on May 1, although some collection days may change. The new contract combines waste collection and street cleaning – previously two separate contracts.
It includes:
• Kerbside collection of refuse, recycling and organic waste
• Street cleansing of public highways
• Fly tip removal
• Street washing and chewing gum removal in town centres and shopping parades
• Emptying litter bins
• Removing graffiti from public property.
As well as cash savings, the new contract brings lots of environmental benefits. Fewer vehicles mean lower carbon emissions, and the use of state of the art in-cab technology will improve fuel conservation, ensure routes are being completed efficiently and help protect the environment.
They’ll also be fitted with a range of monitoring tools to ensure that staff are driving economically and completing their routes as efficiently as possible.
Another improvement is the driver management IT system installed in each vehicle. It will enable potential reported missed collection issues to be resolved more quickly and efficiently, enabling a faster response to customers and saving time for back office staff.
Calendars with new collection dates will be delivered in late spring.