Richmond council has formally announced that Serco has been awarded a 10-year contract worth up to £60 million to manage waste and recycling services for the London borough.
Serco was named as the winner of the contract in November 2019 (see letsrecycle.com story), but a formal announcement was postponed until after the 2019 election.
The 10 year collections contract with Serco will commence in March 2020
This statement was released yesterday, January 20, where the council announced that after a “significant and robust procurement process”, Serco has been awarded the contract, due to commence on 30 March 2020.
The contract win marks a successful period for Serco, after securing extensions in the London boroughs of Bexley and Newham, as well as bagging the Windsor and Maidenhead collections contract in June 2019.
Richmond said in its statement that Serco has “rich experience delivering municipal waste services to 21 local authorities around the country”.
Cost savings
While no details of any delivery changes have been confirmed, Cllr Martin Elengorn, chair of the environment and sustainability committee, said the Serco deal would allow the council to make cost savings over the next 10 years while retaining a weekly collection.
“The council has to make significant savings over the next few years; this major contract will not only offer improved service delivery, a new fleet, retained weekly collections and greater efficiency, it can also be delivered at a cost close to the existing council budget provision.
“The council will work with Serco to continue to improve our recycling rate across the borough – identifying ways to work with residents to encourage them to engage in our already comprehensive service. Serco will also be involved in assisting the council in delivering its climate change objectives”.
Richmond recorded a recycling rate of 42.5% in the 2018/19 Defra statistics, and its incumbent contractor Veolia has held the collections contract since 2004, after securing an extension for three years in 2017.
Fleet
Details of the fleet which will be used were also confirmed by Richmond, with EURO6 refuse collection vehicles to be in place by the Autumn.
“We are delighted to have been selected by Richmond council to deliver these essential services”
These will be fitted with a range of safety features including 360-degree camera and an ‘auto stopping system’ which automatically apply the vehicle brakes when movement is sensed during reversing.
With the exception of the garden waste vehicles all other vehicles will also have two separate compartments. Richmond said that this means more than one type of waste can be collected on each vehicle, resulting in less vehicles on the road.
‘Delighted’
Following commencement of the contract, Serco said it will work with the council to develop innovative initiatives aimed at improving the collection service and customer experience. For example, by linking into vehicles ‘In Cab’ computer system to the council’s customer service team will have access to real time updates to issues and will be able to track service progress.
Managing director for Serco Environment Services, Ronnie Coutts said:“We are delighted to have been selected by Richmond council to deliver these essential services over the next 10 years. Our new fleet of EURO 6 refuse collection vehicles are more fuel efficient, meaning lower vehicle emissions, they will also be fitted electric bin lifts and use other carbon reduction measures to ensure the collection service is delivered in as environmentally friendly way as possible.”
The post Richmond formally announces Serco contract appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
