Refuse collections to be taken over by Veolia

French waste contractor Veolia has been awarded a contract to collect rubbish and recycling from homes in East and North Hertfordshire from next May (2025).

The two councils have operated a joint contract and shared service for waste since 2018, the first of its kind in Hertfordshire, and this procurement sees an extension of the successful partnership. 

The councils will continue to work in partnership with current contractor Urbaser UK, until the new contract starts in May 2025. Staff on the existing contract will transfer to Veolia. 

Cllr Tim Hoskin, East Herts Council’s Executive Member for Recycling & Waste, said: "This new contract and service design gives residents the opportunity to recycle more materials and help the councils in their long-term ambitions to improve the environmental sustainability of services. As a result, we hope to see improvements in recycling performance over the coming years.

"We would like to thank Urbaser for their hard work and commitment to providing high quality services over the last seven years, and we look forward to continuing to work with them until May 2025."

The councils will work with Veolia to introduce significant changes to waste and recycling services later in 2025, including a new three-weekly collection cycle, to enhance recycling opportunities for residents. Most residents will receive a new bin and the service will involve three weekly collection of:

• Mixed paper and cardboard in one bin
• All other dry recycling – glass, plastic bottles, pots tubs and trays and cans and foil – with a new addition of plastic bags and film in another bin
• General (non-recyclable) waste

North Herts Council’s weekly food waste collection service will remain unchanged.

East Herts will be introducing a new separate weekly food collection service, similar to North Herts' existing service. In addition, the councils will operate a new fleet with vehicles which are 3.5t or under being zero emission. 

Cllr Amy Allen, North Herts Council’s Executive Member for Recycling & Waste, said, "We are excited to be continuing our partnership with East Herts and developing a new partnership with Veolia, to help drive forwards an environmentally sustainable service for the future. 

"I'd like to thank officers at both North and East Herts for the sheer graft put into the tender process. The process was rigorous, and we have ensured in these financial times that we will receive the best value for money for residents."

Ilana Shaw, General Manager at Veolia, said: "We are delighted to form a new partnership with North and East Herts councils to target increased recycling, clean streets, decarbonisation, and social value initiatives to support the local communities.

"We look forward to sharing our extensive experience for a sustainable future as we support the authorities in achieving net zero by 2030 with key projects planned, which will enable residents to join Veolia and North and East Herts councils on the journey towards ecological transformation."