City and waste firm agree deal for kerbside recycling shake-up

Sheffield Council said back in February this year that from April 1 residents would be able to swap the recyclable contents of their blue bin with that of their blue box.

But April 1 came and went without any such changes taking place, raising questions as to whether the authority would be going ahead with the expensive move.

When the blue boxes for paper and card were first introduced by Sheffield Council last year, many people complained that the boxes were not protected from wind and rain and were also too heavy to lift when filled with damp paper.

The proposed changes mean that people will now be able to use the small box for plastic, glass and tins, and the large blue bin for paper, should they so choose.

However, Sheffield Council’s cabinet committee failed to agree a cost for the alterations to the service with waste contractor Veolia before the announcement was made in February.

As a result, the changes have been delayed while council bosses and Veolia have attempted to thrash out an agreement.

Following talks on Monday, it was announced yesterday that an agreement has now been reached and the changes will be introduced in two phases, starting on Monday, May 23.

Residents will now be sent a leaflet, telling them when the new-style recycling collections will begin in their neighbourhood.

Gillian Charters, Sheffield Council’s head of waste management, said: “We listened to people’s comments about the use of the blue containers and were keen to be able to offer some choice, but we were conscious that budgets are very tight and these changes would involve additional costs for Veolia.

“We’ve had a very useful meeting with Veolia’s management and they were keen to work with us in finding a solution to this problem.

“The new service will be phased in over the coming weeks, but people should continue to use their blue bins and boxes as usual until we advise them when it will change in their neighbourhood.”

Nigel Williams, managing director for Veolia Environmental Services in Sheffield, added: “The new recycling service was introduced last year and thanks to residents it has been a huge success.

“We are working closely with Sheffield Council to provide the right recycling service for the residents of Sheffield and we are pleased to announce that residents will have the choice of which container to use for glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and cans and which one to use for paper and card.”

Coun Paul Scriven, the Liberal Democrat leader of Sheffield Council, said that the changes to the service had been delayed in order to give taxpayers the best value for money.

He said: “We said that we would deliver this improvement and today’s joint announcement confirms that. I’m sure that local people will understand that by waiting just a little longer than originally planned we can get the best price possible.

“Only this week the council confirmed that we underspent on the waste budget by £1.5m last year, thanks to increased profits on material collected via the new recycling service.”

A spokesman for Sheffield Council declined to reveal yesterday how much the changes to the service will cost.

It is thought that giving residents the choice of receptacles will lead to additional trips being made by waste trucks to and from the dump, therefore increasing costs to Veolia.

It has also not been confirmed as to whether the proposed changes will be affected should the Liberal Democrats lose control of the Town Hall in May.

At present the Lib Dems have 41 seats to Labour’s 40 and a swing of les than four per cent is needed to return Labour to power.