New Environmental Services Contract - FAQs
Contact
Tel: General Enquiries including Bulky Household Waste Collections & Sharps and Needle Collection enquiries: 01509 634563
Email: cleaner.greener@charnwood.gov.uk
Frequently Asked Questions
We have put together a list of questions and their answers which resident's might find useful. Just click on the question you are interested to get the answer.
THE NEW CONTRACTOR
FAQ 1 Who is the new contractor?
Serco Integrated Services.
FAQ 2 How were Serco chosen? What was the tendering process?
A Project Board was set up to ensure the process ran smoothly. A Market Workshop was then held for potential bidders, to give them more information on which to base their decision to tender. Reference Panels were also set up: one for Members, and one for the Community. These panels were led by an independent facilitator, and sought to get information about the priorities for the contract. A thorough short-listing process was undertaken by professionals in Environmental Services, alongside independent evaluation by Environmental Consultants. Site visits were made to contracts run by each of the shortlisted bidders, followed by clarification presentations. Each of these companies were scored against a number of criteria, and the highest scoring bidder put forward to Cabinet for approval.
Serco showed good value for money, whilst providing a service which meets the needs of the residents of Charnwood.
FAQ 4 What will Serco be responsible for?
They’ll take over from Veolia Environmental Services, and will be responsible for:
- Collecting refuse and recycling from the kerbside of properties
- Cleaning the streets
- Emptying litter bins
- Collecting bulky household waste, such as old furniture
- Increasing the amount of bulky waste diverted from landfill through re-use
- Collecting garden waste from properties subscribing to the service.
FAQ 5 When do Serco start, and how long will the contract run for?
The new contract starts on 1st August 2009, and will run until 31st March 2017. Some changes to the service will be implemented immediately.
FAQ 6 What are the financial implications, and what will the savings be over the existing contract?
The new contract is worth £32 million, and will generate savings of £2.4 million for the Council in the first two years. These savings can be used to enable investment in other services, and to keep costs down for residents.
SERVICE CHANGES
Refuse and Recycling
FAQ 7 Will my collection day change?
Maybe. As part of Serco’s bid, they were asked to reduce their carbon footprint. One way they aim to achieve this is to make the refuse collection rounds more efficient. They will be rescheduling the collection rounds, and as a result, your collection day may change. When further information is available, this will be conveyed to residents, and will also be available on the CBC website.
FAQ 8 What changes will be made to the waste collection service? How will this make recycling easier?
From 1st August 2009, the red and green recycling bags will be phased out, and replaced by a single recycling sack, which will be used in conjunction with the existing green box for glass. None of the materials that can be recycled will be changed. This should make it easier for residents to recycle.
In 2011/12, wheelie bins will be used to collect recycling, which will make recycling easier, tidier, and no longer susceptible to animals ripping open bags. They will also make it safer for the collection crews to handle.
FAQ 9 Will you introduce wheelie bins for recycling, and what will happen to landfill waste?
In 2010/11, wheelie bins will be used to collect recycling.
Charnwood Borough Council is a forward-looking authority aiming to increase recycling, and reduce waste being sent to landfill sites. Much work is being done nationally to encourage manufacturers to reduce the amount of packaging around products, as shown year on year by the reduction in Easter egg packaging. There are also trials being run across the country to investigate removing food waste from the landfill waste stream, and treating it separately.
As such, and alongside the comprehensive recycling service available to residents in Charnwood, the capacity for landfill waste will reduce year on year, meaning that a smaller bin will be sufficient for average households. It is anticipated that this will be introduced in 2011, along with the wheelie bin for recycling. Of course, larger households or those with special circumstances may require more capacity, and this will be taken into consideration when allocating wheelie bins.
It’s important to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill sites, as it’s a very expensive way of dealing with waste, and it can be harmful to our environment. If the amount of waste being sent to landfill isn’t reduced by specific levels by 2013, authorities will face significant fines, which will have an impact on the tax payer. By introducing a smaller landfill waste bin, it will encourage residents to think carefully about how much waste they produce.
FAQ 10 Will this be the same for rural properties?
Rural properties will also switch to a single sack recycling collection. Some of these properties on black sacks will be provided with a wheelie bin, although which properties are yet to be identified.
FAQ 11 Why won’t recycling wheelie bins be introduced until 2010/11?
By waiting until 2010/11, it gives plenty of time to ensure the correct systems are in place before the collections change. It ensures that there is adequate planning opportunity, so that the transition to the new service runs smoothly.
In addition to this, the refuse and recycling collection vehicles are leased from another company, and these leases run out in 2010/11. The current recycling vehicles don’t have a lifting mechanism on them to lift a recycling wheelie bin, but in 2010/11, when new vehicles are leased, they will be required to have a lifting mechanism. It would be too costly to terminate the existing vehicle leases before they end in 2010/11.
FAQ 12 When will I receive my new recycling sacks?
The exact details of the transition to the new service are still to be finalised. More details will be available in the coming months.
FAQ 13 What should I do with left-over red and green sacks?
The exact details of the transition to the new service are still to be finalised. More details will be available in the coming months. We anticipate that existing stocks of the bags should be used up before residents start using the new sacks.
FAQ 14 How will the changes affect school recycling collections?
Schools will be affected in the same way as domestic properties, by switching first to a single recycling sack in August 2009, then to a wheelie bin for recycling in 2010/11. No glass is currently collected from schools, and it isn’t anticipated that this will change.
FAQ 15 How will the changes affect the University recycling collections?
The University will also switch to a single recycling sack in August 2009, then to bins (either wheelie or Eurobins) for recycling in 2010/11.
Street Cleaning
FAQ 16 What changes will be made to the street cleaning service?
This will change from a frequency based contract to an output based contract, which means that it will be cleaned to meet and maintain the required standard. If it falls below the required standard, there are set times within which this must be rectified, or financial penalties will be imposed on the Contractor.
Every street in Charnwood has been categorised into a zone, labelled 1, 2, 3 or 4. These zones have been set according to the Environmental Protection Act (1990) Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse, and depend on the level of usage of particular areas. For example, a town centre street is heavily used, is likely to be more heavily littered, so will be a zone 1; a rural road is far less heavily used, is likely to be littered less, so will be a zone 4.
Each of the four zones has associated ‘response’ times set out in the Code of Practice. It is within these times that an area should be returned to an acceptable level of cleanliness, although the Contractor should aim to maintain an acceptable level of cleanliness at all times.
The level of cleanliness is categorised using a grading system of A to D, whereby A shows that an area has very little or no litter or detritus, through to D which is heavily littered with significant accumulations of litter or detritus.
For more information, please refer to the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse, which is available here: www.defra.gov.uk/ENVIRONMENT/localenv/litter/code/
Other Changes
FAQ 17 Will anything be added to the existing service?
More work will be done to divert bulky waste away from landfill sites by channelling it through re-use charities, where items can be repaired and sold on at low costs.
COMMUNICATION
FAQ 18 How will you notify me of the information I need?
A communications plan is being developed which includes leaflets being delivered to each property, newspaper adverts, bus shelter adverts, website information, roadshows, doorstepping etc.
PERFORMANCE
FAQ 19 What will happen to the Veolia staff?
Veolia staff will be transferred to Serco.
FAQ 20 How will the new contract improve customer satisfaction?
It will help to make recycling easier and more convenient for residents. It will result in cleaner streets and lower carbon emissions, whilst saving money.
FAQ 21 Will Serco provide a more environmentally-friendly service?
Yes. One requirement of the new contract is that it reduces the current carbon emissions of the service. Serco are aiming to reduce carbon emissions by 40%, by re-routing the collection rounds, and using vehicles powered by bio-diesel.
FAQ 22 If Serco don’t perform well, what action can be taken?
Financial penalties will be imposed if Serco don’t meet the required standard.
FAQ 23 Is there an opportunity to get out of the contract if it isn’t working?
If there are problems with the performance of Serco, financial penalties can be imposed on them to ensure that they meet the required performance. In this way, it’s in their interests to get it right. If this doesn’t work, then there is the opportunity to terminate the contract, although this is only to be used as a VERY last resort.
Last updated: Tue 16th March, 2010 @ 15:32