Serco takes over collections in Derbyshire Dales

The 20 million eight-year deal, awarded in October 2011, sees Serco take over from previous contractor Veolia today (August 6).

The changes will include moving to a commingled collection of dry recyclables and introducing food waste collections. However due to the complexity of the project the council said the changes will be rolled-out in stages in a bid to reduce confusion amongst residents and minimise teething problems.

Changes

As of today, cans will be collected in residents blue recycling boxes, along with glass, metal trays and cartons. Previously cans were collected in a blue recycling bag with paper and cardboard.

No further changes will be introduced until October 2012. As of October all dry recyclables glass, metal, paper, cardboard, plastic, and cartons will be collected commingled in a blue-lidded wheeled bin. The new wheeled bins have been purchased from Schaefer, and will be delivered by Straight at the beginning of October. Once collected, the dry recyclables will be sent to Viridor for sorting.

Serco will also introduce a weekly food waste collection service. At present, food waste is collected fortnightly with garden waste. Once the separate collections of food waste begin, the material will be sent to Vital Earths in-vessel composting facility.

In addition, Serco said it will also offer residents in isolated areas of the Dales the opportunity to recycle for the first time.

Service

Commenting on the service, Councillor Lewis Rose, leader of the council, said: The thing they will notice in the first stage from 6 August is the new collection trucks with our green livery, but the only other change from that day is that we want residents to recycle tins and cans in their existing blue box instead of their blue bag, which is the case at the moment.

Councillor Rose added that the service change will also help to improve the councils recycling rate, which was 41% in 2010/11.

Local people have told us they want to recycle more and this exciting change means they can do that. It’s the sort of initiative we like, reducing costs while improving one of our key services. There will of course be some initial teething problems – there always are on a project of this scale – but we know that this type of operation works extremely well in other areas.

Mike Boult, Sercos managing director, added: We are delighted to have been selected to provide quality services to the residents of Derbyshire Dales. We look forward to working in partnership with local people to ensure those services meet the needs of the communities. We are confident that we will make recycling easier for residents and help the District Council achieve its recycling target.