East Herts district council has awarded Veolia Environmental Services a seven-year contract to carry-out waste and recycling collections in move which the council claims could save it up to £10 million over the course of its operational life.
East Herts said that savings would be achieved through increased levels of waste reduction and recycling, which has been aided by the introduction of its ‘Alternate Refuse Collection' system in November 2009 under its out-going waste and recycling contractor Enterprise.
Under the new service, known as ARC, residents in East Herts have been given an additional blue box for recycling to go alongside their existing green recycling box. The blue box is intended to be used for plastic bottles and cans, while the green box is to be used for fibrous material.
In addition, householders have been issued a food waste caddy, which is collected on a weekly basis. Residual waste was moved to a fortnightly collection on alternate weeks to the dry recycling collection. These arrangements will not be affected when Veolia takes over operation of the contract on May 1 2011.
Commenting on the contract award, George Robertson, director of customer and community centre at East Herts council, 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.”
The council added that, under the contract and the ARC system, it envisioned that there would be fewer refuse collection vehicles on the road – lowering the environmental impact of the scheme.
Veolia
Under the contract, Veolia intends to invest £3 million into new refuse collection vehicles in order to serve the contract. The new vehicles will include a mobility information management system (MIMS), which allows Veolia to map and route collections in the region.
Jean-Dominique Mallet, UK chief executive of Veolia, 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.”
In total, the contract covers:
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Kerbside collection of refuse, recycling and organic waste
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Street cleansing of public highways
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Fly tip removal
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Street washing and chewing gum removal in town centres and shopping parades
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Emptying litter bins
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Removing graffiti from public property
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