The plans were put forward in October 2011 by the Dorset Waste Partnership (see letsrecycle.com story), which asked councils to make their decisions by the end of January 2012. So far, six of the seven DWP members have approved the move with Weymouth & Portland borough council expected to follow suit when councillors vote on January 19.
The DWP was established in December 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story) by seven Dorset councils Dorset county council, Christchurch borough council, East Dorset district council, North Dorset district council, Purbeck district council, West Dorset district council and Weymouth & Portland borough council.
If introduced, the new service will replace the 12 different collections currently operating throughout Dorset, with the exception of Bournemouth and Poole. It is hoped to save the councils a combined total of 2 million annually and bring the countys recycling rate to over 60% by 2015/16.
The implementation of the service will begin in October this year in the east of the county and is hoped to be complete by 2014.
West Dorset
West Dorset district council is the most recent to approve the move to a standardised service after meeting last Thursday (January 5). The council also agreed that an extensive communication and engagement exercise with residents must be carried out prior to the changes being implemented.
Commenting on West Dorsets decision to opt-in to the service Richard Gould, leader of the district council, said: It is an important decision because the economic situation has changed. The district councils funding from central government has been cut by 25% a huge reduction. We must save money to protect frontline services and keep our council tax one of the lowest in the country.
Service
If approved by all councils, residents across Dorset will receive a 140-litre wheeled bin for the fortnightly collection of residual waste, which is currently collected in black sacks. Residents will also receive a 240-litre wheeled bin for dry recyclables, to be collected fortnightly, and a 55-litre box for glass. Residents will also receive two caddies for food waste one for the kitchen and a lockable one for outside – which will be collected weekly. An optional charged garden waste service will also be introduced.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Bill Davidson, head of strategy and commission at DWP, said: The new service will provide a comprehensive, user friendly service that is standardised in Dorset.
Mr Davidson believes the service will represent a unique collaboration between councils as the first county-wide standardised in-house collection service. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has also recognised the partnership’s potential and has so far awarded more than 400,000 towards the set up of the DWP, demonstrating national confidence in its success.
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He said that things were looking positive and that he hoped the final council, Weymouth & Portland borough, will approve the move. We are very much hoping that this will be a full partnership of all of the councils, he said.
The DWP currently directly runs in-house waste and recycling collections in Christchurch, East Dorset and North Dorset and manages Purbecks collection contract with SITA UK. Dorset county councils disposal contract is also managed by the DWP.
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