Sarah Joiner, 56, who suffers from multiple sclerosis has owned male Montezuma – nicknamed Zuma – for four decades, rang the authority for help after the pet had gone missing on Friday (5 August).
The Westminster resident contacted the council’s refuse administrator at Veolia directly and the enquiry was logged with council officials.
The council then used GPS satellite tracking technology to find the refuse lorry with the stowaway tortoise which was en-route to the storage bunker at a Veolia treatment facility in south east London.
Vehicle
The vehicle, which was carrying around 10 tonnes of residual waste, and was put onto a separate side in the tipping hall to be searched.
Ms Joiner arrived at the centre and was given a safety brief before putting on protective clothing to help in the search alongside waste management staff.
After two-and-a-half-hours and searching around 1,000 black bags with a thermal imaging camera Zuma was found safe well.
Ms Joiner thanked Westminster city council and Veolia for helping her. She said: “Thank you is never going to be enough. It was amazing teamwork; there was no nonsense about it just enormous goodwill in finding him. I can’t thank Jarno Stet from the council, and Lynn Davis plus Ben and Simon from Veolia enough.”
Praise
Councillor Melvyn Caplan, Westminster City council’s lead for city management and customer services, said: “We’ve all had that feeling of panic when we realise we’ve lost something, but when it’s a much loved family pet then it really is a disaster.
“On this occasion the understanding and hard work of our waste services staff is an exemplar of how we strive to ensure our residents receive outstanding customer service. The example of going above and beyond what is required is one Westminster can be proud of, and I commedn our staff and our colleagues at Veolia for pulling out the stops to ensure a successful reunion between Zuma and Sarah.”
Lynn Davis, contract manager for Veolia said: “I’m delighted that were able to find Zuma and return him to Mrs Joiner unharmed, he really has survived against the odds.
“The team were all keen to help when they heard what had happened and together we were able to ensure that the search was conducted safely and effectively. This was certainly a different way to spend a Friday afternoon and I’m just relieved we were successful.”
Transport
Garden waste is not currently collected separately in Westminster and is recovered for energy. With a low level of green waste arising in the council area and after sustainability assessments, the preferred option is to send the material with residual waste for energy recovery.
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