(L-R): Brendan Bodger (Street Cleansing Manager); Mark Harmon (Environmental Enforcement Manager); Paul Almond (Street Scene and Landscape Manager); Eloise Attwood (Service Development & Commercial Waste Manager); Ian Upstone (Waste Resource Collection Manager); Ed Potter (Head of Environmental Services); and Stuart Cruickshank (Fleet Manager)
Cherwell District and South Northamptonshire councils have merged their waste collection operations, in a bid to save the two local authorities £200,000 a year.
As part of the move, the councils have cut five management posts and made two people redundant to create a single management team of six people: Brendan Bodger; Mark Harmon; Paul Almond; Eloise Attwood; Ian Upstone; Ed Potter; and Stuart Cruickshank.
The change in the Environmental Services structure has been implemented in two stages. The first covered bring banks, bin deliveries, bulky waste and commercial waste and was implemented in autumn 2013.
The second stage, implemented earlier this month (1 April), saw a reduction of five posts - two through voluntary redundancy, and three by not replacing vacant posts.
Speaking of the changes, Cherwell's lead member for clean and green issues, Councillor Nigel Morris, said: "We've gone a long away down the road of sharing structures and services between the two councils. But we can do more - so it makes sense to combine our waste collection operations in a move that will see overall savings for the two council of more than £200k a year."
Cherwell District Council had been a member of the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership, a partnership of the county and district councils of Oxfordshire that worked to ;improve waste management services within the county’, but earlier this year it was announced that the partnership will formally wind down operations, following Oxfordshire County Council’s (OCC) decision to withdraw funding from the waste body from 2015.
Read more about recycling in Cherwell District or South Northamptonshire councils.
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.