The decision was made on July 7 after nine months of planning and will see Tamworth's outsourced collection service, currently operated by waste management firm Veolia, brought in-house when the contract ends in 2010 and combined with Lichfield's in-house service.
Ruth Plant, director of operational services at Lichfield district council, told letsrecycle.com that the decision followed government calls to combine services where possible.
She said: “Councils all over the country are talking about working together. There is a government push and it is part of the agenda. There is a lot of joint contracting but we are not aware of anyone else doing exactly the same thing as us.”
The councils hope that the joint scheme will reduce costs per household from £56 to approximately £46 per annum. With 42,000 households in Lichfield and 32,000 in Tamworth, this could mean it could save up to £740,000 a year, Ms Plant claimed.
She said: “There is a saving to both councils and obviously in making these savings there will be a slimming down of the work force, but we hope to achieve most of this through natural turnover.”
Andrew Barratt, deputy director of Tamworth borough council operational services, added: “The savings to both councils will be achieved by a more efficient and effective use of the resources available to the joint administrative arrangement. The new service delivery will also assist in promoting environmental, social and economic wellbeing.”
Trials
When considering combining services the councils ran trials in Lichfield to find the best service options. As a result they are set to replace recycling boxes, which are collected weekly, with wheeled bins, which will be collected fortnightly, after these were found to increase recycling rates by 4%.
Ruth Plant explained: “Residents found it simpler, quicker and cleaner and the streets have been noticeably tidier as a result.”
Lichfield's last audited household waste recycling and composting rate, for 2007/08, was 50% while Tamworth's was 40%. Both councils have been recognised for outstanding service in recycling and waste management and Tamworth's services were praised by auditors in 2006 as among the best in the country.
Implementation of the combined collection service scheme will start with the roll out of the wheeled bins in Autumn 2009 and is expected to take up to 12 months to complete.
Councillor Louise Flowith, cabinet member for operational services at Lichfield district council, said: “By working together we'll cut carbon emissions by reducing the amount of miles our trucks travel. As a bigger customer we'll also be able to get better value from suppliers, and test out new recycling methods more quickly. And, we'll be better placed to respond to emergencies such as bad weather and pandemic sickness. Above all, we're confident the partnership will deliver better value for money and help to boost the amount of waste we recycle.”
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