A £50m waste and recycling contract has been awarded to Biffa by Epping Forest District Council.
The council hopes the 10-year contract will help increase its recycling rates from the current rate of 58.8%.
Cllr Will Breare-Hall, Epping Forest District Council’s portfolio holder for environment, said: ‘This deal is great news for Epping Forest residents and our district. Our new contract with Biffa promises residents an innovative, improved and more responsive service that respects what they like best about our current provision, and helps us keep their council tax low.
‘It is essential we keep striving to improve. This new partnership with Biffa offers even better services to residents, reductions in environmental impact, and helps us to maintain our record as one of the UK’s top recycling authorities.’
The council’s twin stream recycling collections will be sent to Biffa’s advanced materials recycling facility (MRF) in Edmonton, north London. Residual waste in wheeled bins will be collected every fortnight, and dry recyclables will be processed for sale to UK, European and international markets, with any revenue earned going back to the council.
The contractor will also be responsible for cleansing 42,000 kilometres of streets and roads annually.
New proposals put forward by the European Commission could see councils forced to recycle 70% of local waste by 2030.
