Sutton Council saves £1m in waste collection costs

New working patterns in Sutton Council's waste and recycling collections were introduced yesterday (April 16), helping to save £1m from its waste collection budget.


Changes to working patterns came into force yesterday morning after the council in Southwest London identified the need to find £1m in savings in its Smarter Services Sutton review in 2010.

During a consultation with residents last year, several options were suggested, including moving to fortnightly waste collections and either charging for or removing free garden waste pick-ups.

But residents said they valued the weekly bin collection and free garden waste collections, so Sutton explored other ways to save money while also protecting services.

By extending collection routes to run in two shifts from 6am to 8.30pm during the week and introducing a Saturday service from 7am to 2.45pm, the council says it can save £500,000 without cutting collections, introducing extra charges or laying off staff.

An additional £500,000 saving has been secured by implementing changes to other services, including increasing charges for the local authority’s trade waste collections.

The new service is profiled in LAWR’s May issue.

Nick Warburton

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