Milton Keynes Council has awarded the £4.5 million contract for the operation and management of the three Community Recycling Centres (CRCs) to HW Martin Recycling Services for the next five years.
The new operator will implement a number of changes in the services provided aimed at improving customer service and making sure that the material is re-used or recycled as a “Zero Waste” approach is adopted where waste is sent to a dedicated treatment facility, saving the council money and helping the environment.
The new contract marks the end of the STAR or second-time-around shops where re-usable items were reclaimed from the waste and sold on to members of the public.
In the past these shops have been the target for arson and burglaries, so removing them will improve safety at the CRC sites and create more space for material recycling.
Rather than sorting through the materials, site operatives will be able to concentrate on helping customers, providing a “meet and greet” service and directing them to where they need to go.
Re-usable items will still be made available for sale via off-site outlets and details of the locations of these will be made available in due course.
Prior to the start of this new contract, all materials collected by the council as part of its bulky waste collection service, and much of the litter and fly-tipped waste collected, was taken to landfill.
Now, in an effort to further improve Milton Keynes’ recycling rate, all of this material will be made available for recycling, re-use or recovery as HW Martin Recycling Services has access to a number of markets for products which were previously difficult to recycle.
While current opening hours will remain the same, visitors will notice new site lay-outs aimed at improving the flow of traffic and reducing queuing at peak times. All signage will be clearly branded in the council livery.
HW Martin Recycling Services’ vehicles are able to transport two containers of waste at a time, reducing the council’s carbon footprint and saving on fuel costs.
Although commercial waste will no longer be accepted at every Community Recycling Centre, businesses will be offered a much improved service at the Newport Pagnell CRC in Crawley Road.
Newport Pagnell is the largest of the three CRCs and offers better road access. A dedicated facility will be set up to handle commercial waste, separate from residential waste.
Local Councillor Sam Potts said: “We are pleased to welcome HW Martin Recycling Services as the new operator of the Newport Recycling Centre. By diverting waste from landfill, our new partner will help us to further improve our already outstanding record in recycling and offer a much improved service to local residents.”
