The new service in a nutshell:   
  
•    Single-use purple bags will no longer be used for collecting glass, cans and plastic  
•    Residents who currently use a small green bin for paper and card, will therefore use this bin for glass, cans and plastic instead  
•    There will be no need to bag the glass, cans and plastic up, just pop it straight in the bin  
•    Paper and card will be collected every four weeks in the new bins, whilst glass, cans and plastic will continue to be collected every two weeks, once the new service starts  
•    All other waste collections will remain the same, with weekly collections for non-recyclable and other waste, and fortnightly collections for garden waste. However, collection days may change.   
•    There are a number of households who currently use a green hessian sack for paper and card as well as a purple bag for other recycling. Therefore, the council is delivering a box to these customers, which is for them to use for glass, cans and plastics instead of the purple bag. The hessian sack will continue to be used for paper and card. As it is to be collected every four weeks, residents can have more sacks if required.    
•    It is likely that the collection day will be different under the new service, and the time bin-crews visit may be later than residents have been used to.    
  
The changes are due to start on 1 April 2019, with residents asked to use the new bins and boxes once their last recycling collection has been made at the end of March ready for the new collections starting. 

All residents will receive a letter and calendar in the coming days detailing the changes which will affect them.  
  
The service includes the provision of 17 new Dennis Eagle Collection vehicles, all but one of which will be 26t vehicles. Each vehicle has a euro 6 compliant 6 cylinder, 7.7l engine which will deliver significant reductions in emissions compared to the current service, delivering cleaner, greener services in the Borough from the outset. The vehicles will be capable of carrying 16.8m3 of either residual waste, mixed recycling, garden waste or paper & card. There will also be one smaller 18t vehicle to carry out collection work in areas of restricted access.   
  
All vehicles come with latest technology including in cab monitoring systems, route tracking, 360degree cameras and web based routing.   
  
Michael Heaslip, Executive member with responsibility for Environmental Quality, said: “These changes are all about improving the service to the customer and having less impact on the environment with the phasing out of the purple bags. However, we know how popular the purple bags are, so that’s why we’ve tried to make the new service as easy as possible for our residents. These changes are also designed to deliver financial savings in the long-term.”     
  
Residents can find out more information at www.allerdale.gov.uk/newbins or by calling 0303 123 1702.   
  
The council’s Executive committee agreed to the changes back in October 2018. As well as changes to bin collections, the council is also investing in a fleet of new environmentally friendly vehicles, which use in-cab technology to provide information on the rounds.  

[ENDS]

Notes 

1.    Other changes and benefits of the new service:
o    The council is delivering around 5,000 boxes to those residents on the hessian sack service. Residents can order more boxes and sacks on request.  
o    Continuation of easy and popular system of recycling through a more environmentally friendly method (not using non-reusable plastic purple bags)  

o    Peat free compost produced from the green garden waste collected across Allerdale  

o    Staff working for the waste and recycling and the street cleansing service will be guaranteed to be paid at least the Foundation Living Wage which is currently at £8.75 per hour.  

o    Save the council money over the contract period. The total value of the three contracts recommended for approval would be £44.6m over the initial eight-year period. This would mean an estimated saving of £4.9m over the current contract, taking into account inflation and other changes. 
 
o    The new contracts would begin on 1 April 2019 and run for an initial eight-year period (with an option to extend for a further eight years).  

o    The procurement process went through a rigorous procurement exercise in accordance with the Council’s financial regulations. The Council’s cross-party Overview and Scrutiny Committee ran a task and finish group to follow the process of letting the contracts and their report was approved on 17 September 2018.