20 Jul. 2022 ### Solihull’s new Environmental Contract off to a smooth start Councillor Ken Hawkins, Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways, met with the heads of Veolia and idverde last week to congratulate them on how smooth the transition has been to the new Environmental Contract. The ten-year contract began in April and is worth £140million. It delivers all the high quality environmental services that were previously supplied in the borough by Amey and Glendale (Forestry) - including household waste and recycling collections, street cleansing, operating Bickenhill Household Waste Recycling Centre, grounds maintenance, forestry and tree services. However, the new contract will offer a number of improvements over the next few years too. There will be much greater use of technology to help support the Council’s ‘Your Future Solihull’ campaign to fight against climate change and reduce the CO2 emissions in the borough to net zero by 2041. Councillor Ken Hawkins said: “We signed this contract with Veolia and idverde in October after an extensive procurement period. It took a huge amount of work to get to that stage during the pandemic and the work has continued since then to ensure a smooth transition. “In the first few months we’ve seen some very thorough deep cleaning operations taking place across the borough and of course our brand new gleaming white lorries with ‘Your Future Solihull’ recycling messages. I look forward to seeing the partnership grow and develop over the next decade.” Pascal Hauret, Managing Director Municipal for Veolia said: "The past few months have shown how fantastic our hard working Solihull based team, both established and new, have been. The services Veolia and idverde have taken over have been delivered to a high level, ensuring continuity for residents and we thank them for their ongoing recycling efforts. We are continuing to invest in this contract and the borough of Solihull in order to increase recycling and have an impact on the council’s fight against climate change. We are excited for the next steps in our contract commitments to deliver our innovative services and community focused projects." Danny Mitchell, Regional Managing Director for idverde said: “We are thrilled to have kicked off our new contract without a glitch. We are looking forward to working with our partners Veolia and Solihull Council to deliver high quality services and projects aimed to reduce the borough's carbon footprint, and make Solihull a cleaner, greener borough.” The full list of services includes: ● Kerbside waste and recycling collections ● Management and operation of Bickenhill Household Waste Recycling Centre ● Management and operation of Moat Lane and Bickenhill Waste Transfer Station ● Provision of street cleansing services – street sweeping, litter picking, litter bin emptying, removal of fly-tipping ● Provision of grounds/cleansing services for Solihull Community Housing ● Provision of grounds maintenance services – parks, open spaces, verges, horticulture ● Provision of grave digging and grounds maintenance services for cemeteries ● Provision of forestry and arboriculture services To find out more about waste and recycling in Solihull and how you can recycle well, see – https://www.solihull.gov.uk/your-future-solihull/waste