Derbyshire Dales District Council have confirmed that, commencing this week (5 August), public services contractor, Serco, will be responsible for all waste and recycling collections in the borough.

The council described the application process for the recycling contract as ‘competitive’ but chose Serco based on what they felt to be the best value for money. The initial eight-year contract is valued at over £20 million, and sees the British company replacing previous provider Veolia.

Serco’s new household recycling scheme ensures that all residents have access to kerbside recycling collections and will for the first time enable residents to recycle aerosols, aluminium trays and beverage cartons. The council hope that the improved service will help to increase the borough’s recycling rates, and reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill.

In addition to offering recycling collections to isolated households for the first time, Derbyshire Dales District Council also plan for Serco to introduce a weekly food waste collection service in October. This will supplement what they hope will be a more simplified dry recycling service, with glass, cans, paper, cardboard, plastics, aerosols, foil trays and beverage cartons fitting into a new blue-lidded wheeled bin (to be rolled out in the first two weeks of October).

Leader of Derbyshire Dales District Council, Councillor Lewis Rose OBE said: "Local people have told us they want to recycle more and this exciting change means they can do that. It's the sort of initiative we like, reducing costs while improving one of our key services.

"There will of course be some initial teething problems - there always are on a project of this scale - but we know that this type of operation works extremely well in other areas. The message to Dales residents right now is that the big service change doesn't happen until October and in the meantime we will be communicating regularly through a variety of channels, including by post, to tell them exactly what to expect."

Speaking of the new contract, Serco's Managing Director for Environmental Services, Mike Boult, said: "We are delighted to have been selected to provide quality services to the residents of Derbyshire Dales. We look forward to working in partnership with local people to ensure those services meet the needs of the communities. We are confident that we will make recycling easier for residents and help the District Council achieve its recycling target."

Further information on the changes being made can be found on the Derbyshire Dales District Council website.