Today marks the day East Cambridgeshire will have its waste collection and street cleansing service delivered by the district council’s trading company, East Cambs Street Scene Ltd.  

The move from previous contractor, Veolia, was decided by the council in February 2017. Since then the council has carried out the necessary work to transfer the service, as well as making improvements to enable residents to recycle more. 

Since February 2018, residents have been able to order a second blue recycling bin for a one-off payment of £25. The additional recycling bin will be emptied at the same time as their first blue bin. 

The days of waste collections will not be affected by the service being delivered by East Cambs Street Scene. Because of the Easter break, residents are reminded that there is a slight change to their collections this week. Normal collections will resume on Monday 9th April.

Councillor Julia Huffer, service delivery champion for waste services said: “We have been looking forward to this day for over a year and it is very exciting to see it come to fruition. It was great to see the team today before they headed out on their first round under East Cambs Street Scene. I am immensely proud of all involved in helping us bring the waste home and I look forward to the future of our waste services. The crew are now part of the Street Scene Team with new uniforms and new vehicles.”    

Jo Brooks, Director of East Cambs Street Scene, said: “This morning was a very proud moment as we have worked very hard over the past 12 months to ensure that the transfer of the waste and street cleansing services to East Cambs Street Scene could happen. All Veolia staff have been transferred to the new company and we are determined that residents receive the best possible waste and street cleansing service. Over the next coming months, we will look at improving the service to our residents and improving recycling rates. The crew's input is critical to this as is ensuring that they feel valued.”  

For more information on East Cambs Street Scene and how you can be a recycling hero like Michael Recycle visit East Cambs’ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2rydLFJSk8