UPM deal set to generate £2M in cost savings for Surrey councils

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council and Guildford Borough Council has struck a deal to send the materials, collected from over 250,000 residents in the county, to paper reprocessor UPM.

The two-year agreement is expected to generate additional income of £1.5M to £2M for the two councils over the course of the contract.

Commenting on the deal, Redhill councillor Julian Ellacott said: “Paper and card are valuable materials, and by offering the material jointly with Guildford we have improved our negotiating strength, achieving a higher price.

“This means that we can offset some of the other financial pressures facing us over the next few years, and is also a solid platform for the extended recycling service which will be introduced next year.”

The deal is the latest example of joint working being developed by the Surrey Waste Partnership (SWP) – a consortium of all 12 county, district and borough councils in the region.

Under its joint plan for waste management, SWP is working towards a 70% recycling target by 2013-14. Partnership projects include work on composting, junk mail, mixed plastics and bring bank recycling sites.

Initial savings from partnership working are already starting to materialise for the council, for example an anticipated £200,000 annual saving in green waste processes.

Maxine Perella