Peterborough City Council wins Government Business award for Waste Management

Peterborough has planned to improve future waste and recycling services set out in the Integrated Waste 2020 Strategy and promoted to the community via a dedicated website www.65percentplus.co.uk. An investment of £74 million will ensure the Council achieves its target of increasing recycling levels to 65 per cent by 2020. Key investments are:

1. Energy from waste facility – design, build and operate a 65,000 tonne capacity energy-from-waste facility

2. New recycling centre – design, build and operate a 100,000 tonne capacity materials recycling facility

3. New contract for direct services by a process of competitive dialogue

4. Anaerobic Digestor to process food waste.

These developments, all on a single site, will cut the volume of rubbish taken to landfill by 95 per cent, produce renewable energy, e.g. electricity to the National Grid and provide a long-term, sustainable alternative to landfill.
    
Following a complete review of our waste and recycling collection service, the Council implemented a new four-day/week collection in November 2009. Employees now work extended 9.5 hour days from Tuesday to Friday with the following benefits:

• a more consistent, steady service for the local community which minimises the need to re-plan and promote collection day changes as a result of bank holidays
• better work-life balance for employees who now have a three-day weekend
• £360,000 repeatable efficiency savings
• Reduced mileage, fuel-consumption and carbon emissions

Peterborough has currently around 20,000 migrant workers. High levels of occupancy change and lack of knowledge has deteriorated the local environment. A successful application to the EU’s Migration Impact Fund has enabled environmental education for newcomers particularly from Eastern Europe.  

• The service was awarded the Best WEE facility by LARAC in 2006 and 2008
• Local companies, John Lewis and Indesit, donate white goods which are refurbished and sold to charities and social causes.
• Peterborough is the first city to achieve Zero Waste accreditation. 
• An information pack has been produced to enable landlords and managing agents to educate their tenants about waste and recycling
• The council’s commercial waste service is provided in partnership with Viridor

For more information
Tel: 01733 425384
Fax: 01733 425316
E-mail: mick.robb@peterborough.gov.uk