Urbaser Awarded Waltham Forest Neighbourhoods Services Contract

Urbaser has been announced as the new provider of neighbourhood services for the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Urbaser has been working with the Borough since 2013 carrying out street cleansing and grounds maintenance. The new 8-year contract to provide neighbourhood services includes waste collection and has an option to renew for a further eight years.

Urbaser’s bid was selected from the tenders submitted based on the high quality of the services offered as well as value for money for taxpayers.

Cllr Clyde Loakes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “We know from residents that reliable waste and recycling collections are really important to them and we believe this contract will maintain the levels of reliability that our residents have been accustomed too.

“The contract also covers grounds maintenance and street cleansing in Waltham Forest. Urbaser have years of experience and are widely respected across the industry for their delivery. They will support and help us strive to maintain clean, safe and green neighbourhoods all across Waltham Forest, from Leytonstone to Chingford and everywhere in between, to benefit all of our residents.”

Although the contract will begin in October 2019, initially services will continue as normal and there will be no immediate alterations to rounds or collection days. Urbaser will continue to collect glass, paper, cardboard, cartons and plastic as well as food and garden waste.

From Spring 2020 residents will be able to recycle even more, as new items are added to doorstep collections. These include textiles, household batteries and small electrical goods (WEE). At this point Urbaser plans to introduce new collection vehicles and work over a longer day to make the service even more efficient. This may lead to a review of collection days and householders will be given ample prior warning regarding any proposed changes.

The new grounds maintenance service contract includes new sustainability measures, including requirements that all weed control in public parks is carried out by non-chemical means and that green waste collected from public parks is collected for compost. The contract also requires Urbaser to support the council in maintaining Green Flag status at Ridgeway Park, Leyton Jubilee Park, and Lloyd Park.

Javier Peiro, Managing Director, Urbaser Ltd says: “We are thrilled to retain our existing service provision with the London Borough of Waltham Forest, and are delighted to build on our excellent relationship by now also providing waste & recycling collections on behalf of the council. We already have six years’ experience working within the Borough and we are committed to creating a cleaner, greener community.”