Serco scrapped as waste contractors for Milton Keynes

A new company has been recruited to replace Serco to collect rubbish and keep the city clean.

After 15 years of service, Serco’s multi million pound contract with MK City Council will end in September this year.

SUEZ recycling and recovery UK has today (Thursday) been named as new company to take over the contract.

But their job will be very different in that they will not be dealing with black sacks and clear recycling bags. For, by September, the vast majority of households in MK will be provided with four different wheelie bins.

There will be the usual green-lidded bin for food and garden waste, a blue-lidded one for plastic, metals and glass, a red-lidded one for paper and card, and a bin with a grey lid for residual waste.

This should lead to less street litter, a reduced food supply for rodents and higher recycling rates, which will be better for the environment and saves on the production of millions of plastic sacks.

Milton Keynes produces around 121,000 tonnes of household waste and recycling each year, of which 52% is currently recycled.

More than 300,000 bins and accompanying waste vehicles will be manufactured and delivered to MK this summer in a massive logistical operation.

Many of the new SUEZ waste and landscaping vehicles will be fully electric to reduce local carbon emissions, and the CCTV equipped fleet will include smaller and narrower vehicles to enable collection crews to pick up waste more effectively.

The fleet will be better able to navigate confined and challenging areas, leading to fewer missed collections for residents, says the council.

SUEZ has been given a five-year contract, following an “extensive” tender process, with an opportunity to extend the contract further.

Cllr Paul Trendall, Cabinet member for the Public Realm, said: “The new waste contract provides an excellent opportunity to modernise how we collect waste and recycling in MK, based on feedback from local people.

"We’re working hard behind the scenes to make sure this massive logistical operation runs as smoothly as possible, and I look forward to seeing this new chapter in our city’s innovative recycling history become a reality.”He added: “As well as welcoming our new contractor SUEZ we’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our previous supplier Serco for 15 years of service to Milton Keynes, including during the recent very challenging pandemic period. Despite this, and periods of bad weather, SERCO collected more than 99% of waste.“Our aim, as always, is to do even better for the people of Milton Keynes going forwards.”

John Scanlon, Chief Executive Officer for SUEZ, said: ““In partnering with such a progressive authority that shares our commitment to continuous improvement, we’re confident that together we can drive further improvements in the city’s recycling rate and in customer service for Milton Keynes’ residents.“As one of the country’s leading providers of innovative recycling and waste management services, we employ over 5,600 people, operating across hundreds of sites, and through collection, treatment, recycling and logistics operations, we serve millions of households throughout the country.”

The City Council is organising ‘bins on tour’ events in libraries and community spaces shortly. Find your nearest event here