The eight-year contract is worth £108 million and was awarded after a competitive procurement process.
The East and North Herts Shared Waste Service has been in operation since 2018 and originally awarded its waste contract to Urbaser UK, now owned by FCC Environment.
Staff on the existing contract will transfer over from FCC to Veolia.
Councillor Tim Hoskin, executive member for sustainability at East Herts council, said: “I’m pleased to welcome Veolia as our new waste and street cleansing contractor. This marks the beginning of a new chapter for recycling and sustainability across East and North Herts.
“I know that adjusting to a new system and collection schedule can take time, and I want to thank our residents for their patience and support. These improvements will help reverse the current trend where we’re throwing away more than we recycle – something that is simply not sustainable.”
The new collection service will begin on 4 August 2025 and will see blue-lidded bins for cardboard and paper delivered to residents in North Herts across May and June.
These will replace the current lidless blue or black boxes once the new service starts in August.
East Herts residents will receive purple-lidded bins for non-recyclable waste, an outdoor food waste caddy and a kitchen caddy.
The deliveries in East Herts will start in June and are also only to be used in August.
In East Herts, some older bins will also be repurposed: the purple-lidded bin will become the non-recyclable waste bin, while the black-lidded bin will be used for mixed recycling (including plastic bags and wrapping) and the blue-lidded bin for cardboard and paper.
The collection schedule will change across both areas.
Non-recyclable waste, mixed recycling and cardboard and paper will be collected on a three-weekly alternating basis.
Food waste collections will take place every week, and garden waste collections will continue fortnightly for those who subscribe.
The changes follow a public consultation which was held over summer 2022.
Veolia was announced as the new waste contractor for the area in September last year.
The new service is compliant with the forthcoming Simpler Recycling legislation which is due to start in October 2026 and will require the separate collection of food waste.
Councillor Amy Allen, executive member for recycling and waste at North Herts Council, said: “We are excited to start this new partnership with Veolia who will play a key part in helping North and East Herts councils deliver a sustainable waste and recycling service for our residents by providing greater opportunities to recycle in the future.
“We understand that changes to services can take time to adjust to. However, we already know from the trailblazing plastic bag and wrapping trials in Knebworth, Sawbridgeworth and Royston, that local residents will rise to the occasion and help us realise our ambition to put sustainability at the heart of our recycling and waste service.”
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