£44m 'better bin service'
Improved collections promised by council
NORTH Hampshire residents are being promised improvements to their bin collection service after 44 new waste and recycling trucks took to the streets last week.
The £44m contract was awarded to Serco by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hart District Council to provide household waste and recycling collections for the next eight years, with an option of extending for a further eight years.
Worth £5.5m per year, the contract will see residents in both areas benefit from improvements to their bin collection service, including a reduction in joint service costs, new vehicles, better bin store signage in flats and improved real time information on the status of bin collections.
In the near future, Hart residents will also benefit from a kerbside collection of textiles.
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s cabinet member for regulatory services and the environment Hayley Eachus said: “Our primary objective is to ensure our residents receive good value for money.
“Working jointly in partnership with Hart District Council has allowed us to achieve significant improvements to the service provided, while securing the most efficient, value for money service for our residents.
“I look forward to seeing these improvements in action with improved reliability of a brand new fleet of vehicles and enhanced communication technology to provide residents with live updates on their bin collection service.”
Serco’s regional contract director Jason Kinsella said: “Serco are very proud to have been selected to deliver these essential services to residents across Hart and Basingstoke, including to many of our own head office staff who live locally.”
A joint waste contract for Hart and Basingstoke was first agreed in 2011 and has delivered significant savings for both authorities over the past seven years.
Staff from the previous Veolia contract were given the opportunity to transfer to the new Serco contract.
For more information on waste services in Basingstoke and Deane, visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/bins
