Councillors help empty bins in North East Derbyshire
North East Derbyshire district council’s leader and deputy leader helped empty bins last week as part of a scheme highlighting the work of frontline services.
The council said that council leader Dale and deputy leader Cupit took to the streets to help bin crews out with collection. The pair helped empty over 1000 bins a day in the rain, the local authority added.
Cllr Alex Dale commented: “Getting hands on with our frontline services and experiencing the work they do day in day out and being part of something we all take for granted was a humbling experience”.
He added that “experiencing the work first hand gives us the opportunity to make sure our workforce have the support and equipment needed, which in turn means our residents get the best service possible whilst also highlighting the often underappreciated and necessary work they do for our communities”.
The council has also introduced an email alert system for residents the night before their bin is due in order not to miss collection day.
LondonEnergy supports ‘More Than History’ fashion show
Council-owned LondonEnergy announced it sponsored a local event as part of its programme to celebrate Black History Month.
The company, which is owned by the North London Waste Authority, said that it celebrated Black History Month throughout October, which adopted the theme ‘Time for Change: Action Not Words’ this year.
According to LondonEnergy, it organised and participated in several initiatives to raise awareness and celebrate the continued achievements and contributions of black people to the UK and worldwide.
Some of these included a food tasting day of African and Caribbean inspired dishes across all sites, a Black History Month visual display at its reuse shop in Chingford and featuring employees on the website, social media and intranet.
The company also outlined that it supported the ‘More Than History’ fashion show during the last weekend of October.
The event was curated and hosted by one of the company’s site supervisors, Shane Campbell. Some collections included the use of upcycled fabrics to create designs around the theme of ‘play’ and ‘nothing goes to waste’, with models wearing jewellery sourced from LondonEnergy’s reuse shop.
Staffordshire HWRCs could issue residents with free permits
Staffordshire county council said it is considering issuing residents visiting household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) with free permits to distinguish between them and traders.
If agreed, the move is hoped to reduce queues and speed up visits to the county’s 14 HWRCs, the council explained. It added that at the same time, it will discourage those traders who try to pass off commercial waste as household rubbish to avoid paying fees.
Simon Tagg, Staffordshire county council’s cabinet member for environment, infrastructure and climate change, outlined that Staffordshire does accept trade waste to help the work of local businesses but traders have to make a payment.
He added: “Many traders use the service without fuss, but, for example, it can be difficult to tell the difference between a householder who has borrowed a van from work for a one-off task and small businesses using a van full time.
“This proposal means we will be able to identify traders and ensure they are charged accordingly.”
Local people and traders will get the chance to give their views on the new proposals when a consultation launches in December, the council noted.
Carmarthenshire awards contract to Yotta
Carmarthenshire county council announced last month (27 October) it has awarded a contract to software services provider Yotta, which is part of Causeway Technologies, to digitise the council’s operational services.
The council explained that Yotta’s solution Alloy will allow for strategic digital transformation of operational services in line with its objective in the ‘digital transformation strategy’.
The local authority outlined that it took the step due to demand placing a strain on services. It said it chose Alloy for its ability to manage a whole suit of key operational services across the entire environmental services ecosystem.
According to the council, residents and local businesses will see improvements in the delivery of services, with all reported enquiries dealt with quickly and transparently. Additionally, the solution is said to help with reduction in carbon emissions and fuel costs through optimal working and a reduction in unnecessary journeys.
The local authority noted that it anticipates “significant cost savings in excess of £250,000 over the contract term” following the implementation of Alloy.
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