How Can the New Recycling Service Save the Council Money?
There is a value to recycling, as it can be sold onto manufacturers to be made into new things. Any income generated from selling the recycling is put back into the service provided, so helping to keep Council Tax to a minimum.
Under the previous contract, the Council were paid a fixed, low rate for the recycling. Whilst this gave security through a guaranteed income when the value of recycling was low, it didn't take into account times when the value was higher.
The new contract for the sale of recycling to Viridor has a fluctuating value associated with the materials, so that when the market value is high, the Council get more money for the materials, and when the value is low, we get less. For security, there is a minimum value built into the contract, to ensure that we always get a reasonable payment for the materials.
This contract with Viridor also requires them to provide, at their expense, a transfer facility so that the Council is only required to travel to Mountsorrel to tip the waste collected. Under the previous contract, each vehicle had to travel to Coalville two or three times a day to tip. This change represents a big saving in terms of fuel (both financial and environmental savings) and time.
The cost of introducing green bins has been met by Serco, the Council's waste collection contractor. These represent a long-term investment with a one-off payment for bins, which is more cost effective over time than the continual supply of recycling bags.
