Bin Bonus! £3.1 million Reward for our Commitment to Weekly Collections

This week we received the very welcome confirmation of the award of £3.1 million from the national weekly collection support fund. The grant award is in recognition of our commitment as one of the minority of councils to have protected weekly black bin collections and our plans to increase recycling and reduce waste even further.

We have fought hard to protect weekly collections over a number of years, going back to the days when the former County Council tried to impose fortnightly collections on Bedford Borough households, and in the face of extraordinary financial pressures it is pleasing to receive this support. It will help us continue that protection of the weekly collection, while bringing in new vehicles and the latest technology to make collections more sustainable and efficient.

The successful bid the Council put together is based on continuing the approach of working with residents to boost recycling and reduce waste across Bedford Borough. We've done this in numerous ways, not just through promoting waste recycling and reduction while protecting weekly black bin collections, but also through expanding the materials to be recycled to include batteries, for example, and installing new recycling facilities at blocks of flats.

The funding will allow the Council to deliver a range of projects, and works over a 5 year programme.

The projects include:

• the purchase of 5 new refuse freighters
• Electric vehicles to be used to promote increased recycling across the Borough
• new bins to help people reduce their weekly black bin waste
• new GPS-based technology to make collections more efficient and responsive to the needs of residents
• Further schemes which will focus on improving recycling and customer services.