This week has seen the beginning of the brand new wheelie bin collection service across Milton Keynes and waste company Suez UK says it is 'excited for the future'.
For the first time in the city, the majority of residents will now be using wheelie bins for household waste.
As part of the move, Suez UK won the contract from Serco, who previously ran waste collections across Milton Keynes. Suez UK has been appointed on a five-year contract, with the opportunity to extend the contract further.
The company has also welcomed and trained 250 additional employees.
More than 300,000 bins and accompanying waste vehicles have been manufactured and delivered across Milton Keynes in a massive logistical operation.
As well as the bins, the city council has also invested in 129 (which includes 65 new waste collection vehicles) new state-of-the-art vehicles, with some being smaller to negotiate tighter spaces.
Many of the new waste and landscaping vehicles are fully electric to reduce local carbon emissions, and the CCTV equipped fleet will include smaller and narrower vehicles, enabling SUEZ collection crews to 'pick up waste more effectively'.
There are three different vehicles that collect waste from households in Milton Keynes now, one for black wheelie bins, another for recycling bins, either blue or red and a third for green wheelie bins or 23l caddy.
Commenting, Daniel Gillert, Suez UK’s regional business manager told Lets Recycle magazine: “Today marks a major milestone as we announce the start of a brand-new waste and environmental services contract for Milton Keynes city council.
"After a very comprehensive mobilisation period over the summer, which saw the arrival of new state-of-the-art vehicles and 250 new staff members at SUEZ, we’re all excited about what the future will bring for us here in Milton Keynes and we’re ready to hit the ground running.”
Statistics gathered by Defra show that Milton Keynes had a recycling rate of 51.9% in the 2021/22 financial year.
The wheelie bins have stirred controversial opinions in the city, with many commenting on social media that the change of collection days and alternating bins causing confusion.
Residents can use an online checker found here to see when their collection will take place.
