Buckinghamshire Council celebrates the arrival of a new waste vehicle fleet

This week, new kerbside collection vehicles will be appearing on the roads in the Chiltern area and Wycombe area. Delayed from September 2020 due to the impacts of coronavirus, the arrival of the new vehicles will improve residents’ general rubbish and food collection service.

The new vehicles offer enhanced performance and manoeuvrability, reduced emissions, improved fuel economy and greater safety, compared to the vehicles they are replacing. They are smaller in size than the old fleet which enables them to better navigate both busy urban streets and narrow country lanes providing a more efficient service. They'll also have state-of-the-art in-cab technology enabling crews to receive residents' reports of missed bins in real time, improving the collection service.

All the vehicles will be displaying the ‘Greener Together’ livery which reflects Buckinghamshire Council's commitment to working with residents to constantly improve the county's environmental performance.

The outgoing vehicles had split bodies, with a pod at the front used for food waste, and the remaining carrying capacity allocated to recycling or rubbish. Under the new regime, these vehicles collect one waste stream at a time to maximise payloads, meaning fewer trips throughout the day to empty the vehicles. Food waste collected on resident’s general rubbish week will now be undertaken by a separate smaller vehicle meaning residents in the Chiltern area and Wycombe area may notice their general rubbish bin and food bin are emptied on the same day, but at different times.

These additions to the fleet follow on from the launch of the new kerbside collection and street cleansing service, by contractor Veolia, back in September 2020. The official launch on Monday 7 September 2020 showed off the new street sweeping vehicles that went straight into action, keeping the streets across the south of the county clean.

Support for the local community is built into Veolia's contract, with a commitment to local procurement and recruitment. Six months into the new service, there’s already been more of a community focus to street cleansing, with crews each being assigned their own local area to create a stronger link between cleansing crews and the communities they serve.

Since the beginning of Veolia’s contract in September 2020:

The workforce has increased by over 10%.

The new vehicles allow for round capacity to increase by 10 rounds, meaning a more efficient service for residents.

21,000 tonnes of recycling have been collected (including dry mixed recycling, paper, card, garden waste, food waste and batteries).

591 fly-tips that had been reported to Buckinghamshire Council have been collected.

17,691 miles have been covered in our sweeper vehicles, helping to keep Buckinghamshire cleaner and greener.

Bill Chapple OBE, Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet Member for Environment & Climate Change, said:

"It’s been six months since we launched a new waste service with our contractors Veolia. Veolia were given the contract because of the improved service they can provide to the residents in these areas and we look forward to extending this to the South Bucks area in November 2021.

“I would like to reassure residents that their food and general rubbish collections will still be collected on the same day, but may be collected at different times.”

Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, commented:

“It was great to see the new vehicles and learn about the very real improvement they will make to our waste collection service. They look great and are more energy and fuel efficient. With greater vehicle reliability I'm confident that residents will really notice the difference'.

Andrew Reidy, General Manager at Veolia, said:

“We are thrilled to be deploying the first phase of our new fleet of refuse and food collection vehicles. With the new vehicles, we will be collecting a single commodity which will allow us to deliver high-quality kerbside collection services.

“The new vehicles have improved fuel efficiency as well as being fitted with electric bin lifts which make them more environmentally friendly – helping us to continue working with Buckinghamshire Council to contribute to a more sustainable future.”