The deal will see the UK recycling and recovery division of Suez take over the collection of residual waste, recycling, food waste and garden waste from households across Maldon from February 2016. Collections are currently carried out by waste management firm Amey.
The new contract will coincide with a raft of changes to the way waste is collected in the borough. However, current collection arrangements in the district which see recycling, residual waste and food waste all collected weekly will continue under Suez until next summer, when changes to the service are set to be introduced.
The changes next year will see a weekly collection of food waste alongside alternate weekly collections of household waste and recycling.
New wheeled bins will also be introduced next year for residual waste, which is currently collected in black bags, in order to “reduce fox issues and keep the district cleaner”, according to the council.
Meanwhile, paper, card, plastics and cans will be collected in sacks alongside a separate blue box for glass bottles and jars.
Changes
This marks a slight change from the existing arrangements, which see plastics and cans collected in green sacks; paper and card collected in black or green boxes; and glass bottles and jars collected in blue boxes
Subscription garden waste collections – which cost £27-32 each year – will remain as they are under the new deal.
Maldon district councillor Ron Pratt, chairman of the authority’s community services committee, said he was “delighted” to announce the award of the contract to Suez – formerly known as SITA UK – after a “comprehensive procurement process”.
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Councillor Pratt said: “The existing collection arrangements will be maintained from the start of the new contract in February. Changes to the service will be implemented from the summer of 2016.
“Suez has vast experience of delivering new waste and recycling contracts and a change to an alternate weekly collection service from the summer of 2016 will, I believe, provide an easier, simpler and much improved service for our residents.”
Suez
Chief executive of Suez recycling and recovery UK, David Palmer-Jones, said: “We are very pleased to partner Maldon district council and look forward to serving the residents of Maldon over the next eight years, particularly in helping the area to maximise its recycling rate.”
Suez also operates the waste and recycling contract on behalf of neighbouring Rochford district council, where recycling rates are among the highest in the UK. In the 2013/14, Rochford had the second highest local authority recycling rate in England at 65.47%.
Maldon district council’s recycling rate in 2013/14 stood at 46.2%, putting the authority at number 127 in the local authority league table for England.
Mr Palmer-Jones added: “We have seen great success with our partners in neighbouring Rochford, which has held the accolade of having the best recycling rate in England, and we look forward to continuing that success in Maldon, working alongside the district council.”
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