SOUTH BUCKS CHOOSES VERDANT FOR INTEGRATED CONTRACT

Sevenoaks, Kent, 6th August July 2007

Hard on the heels of the five new local authority contracts started in April by independent municipal services specialist Verdant Group Plc (www.verdant-group.co.uk) comes the news that South Bucks District Council (www.southbucks.gov.uk) has chosen Verdant to manage a new seven year integrated contract. Beginning in November, Verdant will provide refuse and recycling collection services, plus street cleansing, for South Bucks, which has a population of 63,000 and around 26,500 household properties.

Valued at around £10.5 million over its life, the new contract strengthens Verdant’s presence in the Bucks / Beds region. It currently provides refuse, recycling and street cleansing services for Chiltern DC (with one of the best dry recyclables rates in the UK); refuse, recycling and street cleansing services for South Beds DC; refuse and recycling, street cleansing and toilet cleaning for Mid Beds DC; bring bank management for Aylesbury DC; and street cleansing and grounds maintenance for Wycombe DC.

AWC Pilot For 5,000+ Homes
Verdant’s service for South Bucks will focus on weekly refuse sack collections from around 21,000 properties, as well as managing a pilot integrated alternate week refuse and recycling collection service for around 5,400 properties. The pilot will provide alternate week collection of domestic and garden waste from wheeled bins, as well as kerbside collection of recycling boxes for paper, card, cans and glass recyclables.

It will replace the current schedule for collecting paper and card every fortnight and glass and cans every four weeks. The new fortnightly collection of paper, card, glass and cans will be handled by single pass recycling vehicles to maximise operational speed and efficiency. These vehicles will also be able to collect recyclable plastics at a future date without any modifications. Recyclable materials will be taken to Verdant’s Amersham depot for shipment to reprocessors.

These recycling service enhancements will help increase South Bucks’ recycling rate from its current 33% to at least the national 40% target by 2010. The Buckinghamshire Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy has set a recycling rate target of 45% by 2010, rising to 60% by 2025.

Cleansing of over 400 kilometres of streets in the South Bucks area will be by hand and mechanised sweeping, as well as deployment of a grab vehicle for removing fly-tipped waste. Related services will include graffiti, flyposter and gum removal.

It is anticipated that the current 50-strong workforce will transfer to Verdant’s employment by the start of the contract.

Cllr Bill Lidgate, Portfolio Holder for the Environment at South Bucks District Council, said: “Waste reduction and recycling are high on our priority agenda, and we are focused on delivering efficient services that provide both value-for-money and quality and improving street cleansing. We also emphasise working in partnership with our key contractors, and Verdant’s proven track record in building municipal partnerships, plus its flexible, integrated approach, was regarded as best for meeting our current and future needs. While there will be some changes to the service, I’m confident Verdant will help make South Bucks a ‘greener’ place where residents support cutting waste and improving recycling.”

Verdant managing director Simon Miles added: “This latest contract win again underlines Verdant’s growing reputation as a highly responsive provider of quality municipal services. Our work with South Bucks will benefit from significant synergies with our existing operations in the region, and I’m confident that our service focus will deliver what South Bucks District Council and its residents want.”

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About Verdant

Verdant Group plc, a specialist in providing a range of environmental services to local authorities in England and Wales, is fast becoming one of the most successful niche companies in this sector. The UK-owned group, which has its head office in Sevenoaks, provides a wide range of waste collection, recycling and cleansing services for an expanding local authority customer base, and estimates it makes over 20 million waste and recycling collections annually. Verdant handles recycling, refuse collection and street and beach cleansing contracts for 15 local authorities, and recent additions to its portfolio include a three year green waste recycling contract for South Oxfordshire District Council, a seven year cleansing, waste collection and recycling contract for Rother District Council, a three year green waste recycling contract for Surrey Heath Borough Council, a 12 year cleansing, waste collection and recycling contract for South Beds District Council, a seven year cleansing, refuse collection and recycling contract for Swale Borough Council, and its first business for a London borough, a six year waste collection and recycling service for Waltham Forest Council. Other current local authority customers include Melton, Anglesey, Gosport, Mid Bedfordshire, Bridgend, Chiltern, Arun, Stratford, Aylesbury Vale, Warwick and Wycombe.

For further media information, contact:

Blair Drummond, Verdant PR consultant – tel (m) 07798 686 217, email blair.drummond@btopenworld.com