Last summer, the waste management company announced that it would buy 25 new vehicles for its new waste collection contract in Bristol. And following this, the Bristol-Tbilisi Association requested that SITA’s old fleet of vehicles be given to Tbilisi. The association was established in 1988 after Bristol was twinned with the Georgian capital.
Three 10-year old vehicles, which have been cleaned and checked by SITA staff, have already left the UK and the rest will be transported in the next few months. The vehicles are being shipped from Southampton docks to Georgia’s Black Sea port of Poti, before going on to Tbilisi. The mayor of Tbilisi has paid for the vehicles' transportation.
SITA’s south west regional director, David Foster, said: “We were pleased to respond to the request for what were redundant trucks to be sent to Tbilisi. The trucks have been given a new lease of life and they can now serve Tbilisi for many years.”
The vehicles will play an important part in upgrading the city’s waste collection services. Tbilisi has a population of 1.5 million but has an old waste collection system which uses open-topped lorries. The SITA vehicles will improve both the hygiene and efficiency of the city's waste collection.
Dr Henry Parry, chairman of the the Bristol-Tbilisi Association, said: “We have been working with the authorities of Tbilisi for the past 13 years to help them improve their facilities. Waste management in the city is very poor, so these vehicles will make a real difference to the people of Tbilisi.”
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