SITA UK secures Hounslow waste collection contract

The contract, which will begin in February 2009, involves a council investment of £1.5 million in improving the borough's recycling and composting services.

On top of the materials that residents can already recycle at the kerbside, they will now be able to have food waste, drinks cartons, wrapping paper, mobile phones and printer cartridges collected on a weekly basis via kerbside segregated collections.

Meanwhile, mixed household plastic packaging will be collected on a fortnightly basis, alternating with the borough's green waste collections.

The provision of kerbside plastic collections at a “competitive price” was previously cited by Hounslow as a key aspect of the tender process for the new contract.

Speaking to letsrecycle.com today, a SITA UK spokeswoman said that the mixed plastics would be sent to a UK reprocessor, and that the drinks cartons would also go to a facility in this country, however the company did not disclose where these were.

The borough already offers weekly kerbside segregated recycling collections of paper, cardboard, glass, cans, textiles, batteries and telephone directories.

David Foster, SITA UK's head of operations – municipal, said: “We're delighted to have been awarded the contract with the London borough of Hounslow and are looking forward to working with the councils and the residents to help improve recycling rates across the borough.”

The contract sees SITA UK take over recycling collections from ECT Recycling – now a part of May Gurney – and residual waste collections from Hounslow's in-house operator.

The changes will also include an enhanced green waste collection service, with fortnightly collections now taking place all-year-round and not just during the summer.

Council

Hounslow's lead member for environment, councillor Barbara Reid, outlined just what the council hoped the contract would deliver.

“We are committed to making our borough a cleaner and greener place to live. That's why we are taking steps to increase the borough's recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste we sent to landfill,” she said.

“We are keen to do all we can to help local people in the borough to do their bit. We hope that making recycling easier and more convenient will enable more people to help Hounslow become a greener borough,” she added.