Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire councils are introducing new collection rounds across both districts in a bid to cut the distance travelled by collection vehicles by up to 20,000 miles per year.
The two councils merged their waste teams and collection services in November 2015 in a bid to save up to £700,000 from budgets (see letsrecycle.com story).
The merger saw nearly 100 staff employed by Cambridge city council transferred to South Cambridgeshire Waterbeach depot – close to AmeyCespa’s MBT facility where the majority of municipal waste in the county is treated.
Collection
From Monday (27 February), the two authorities will be introducing a new timetable, which will mean a change to residents’ collection day or time, or to the sequence in which their black or blue and green containers are collected.
The local authorities are anticipating that there may be some short-term effect on services due to the roll-out, but has warned residents ahead of the move.
Commenting on the changes, Cllr Peter Roberts, Cambridge City’s executive councillor for environmental services and city centre, said: “The new round structure will streamline operations and help us to manage the growing demand on the waste service while maintaining a high level of service for residents.”
Cllr Mark Howell, South Cambridgeshire district council cabinet member with responsibility for waste, added: “We appreciate that with this change there will be some disruption and we have put temporary additional resources in place to deal with any unexpected challenges. We would like to thank residents for their understanding and patience while we undertake these service changes and while our crews learn their new rounds.”
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