Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110

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Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council extends waste contract with Acumen

The successful partnership between Acumen Distribution and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, which saw kerbside recycling rates more than double from 26% to 55% in just eight months, has resulted in Acumen's contract being extended until 2016. In addition, the Council has expanded its agreement with the company to include the collection of recyclables from Newcastle-under-Lyme's 15 bring sites.

Acumen Distribution has assigned two compacter trucks for this additional recycling work to provide weekly collections at the bring sites for a wide range of recyclable materials including plastic bottles, paper and glass and metals. For the remaining four days, it will maintain its successful kerbside collections of recyclable household waste.

All recyclables are taken to Acumen's Waste Transfer Station in Burslem where paper, card, plastics, cans, glass, textiles and food waste is weighed and sorted. The company collects the household recyclates using nine trucks. These include five Terberg kerbside vehicles on Dennis Eagle chassis, two Mitsubishi 7.5 tonne light vehicles for rural collections and difficult access and two twin pack compactor vehicles which will also be collecting recyclables from the bring sites.

"Our partnership with Acumen Distribution has resulted in the Council saving money, reducing CO2 emissions and providing our residents with a first rate service," says Trevor Nicoll, Head of Recycling & Fleet Services at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. "The Council therefore had no hesitation in extending our contract with Acumen Distribution until 2016."

Acumen collects an average of 33 tonnes of food waste each week, which would otherwise be sent for incineration- as well as more than 167 tonnes of dry recyclables. The food waste is being turned into electricity and the recyclate is reprocessed in the UK. The increase in recycling has resulted in residual waste being reduced by a very impressive 37%.

During the past 12 months, Acumen's service has resulted in Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council winning a hat trick of awards. These have included the 'Waste Management Award' from Government Business Awards; 'Local Authority of the Year' from the Plant & Waste Recycling Show and the coveted 'Best Target Success Award' from LARAC - the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee.

"In an age of local authority spending cuts, increasing demand for services and targets to reduce CO2 emissions, it makes absolute sense for Councils to save costs by outsourcing their recycling collections to companies such as Acumen, which will invest in vehicles, personnel and infrastructure," says the company's Managing Director Chris Doughty. "We are delighted that our endeavours have resulted in Newcastle-under-Lyme extending our contract."

Acumen provides logistics solutions to some of the UK's most successful companies. Its specialist services help companies increase productivity and become more efficient and competitive. Acumen takes on diverse challenges and delivers competitively priced, quality driven, tailored solutions for UK Domestic and European transport needs. Using its range of core transport capabilities, complemented by innovative Lead Logistics Services and the appropriate technology, Acumen gives its business partners accurate, real time information and a competitive advantage to meet exacting Customer Service and Just-In-Time manufacturing requirements.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, awarded three stars by the Audit Commission, covers 21,096 hectares (Approx. 81 square miles) and has a population of approximately 122,000, making it the largest population of any district council in Staffordshire. There are two main town centres, Newcastle and Kidsgrove. The centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme has a variety of shops and a historic outdoor market.

T: 01604 597740
F: 01604 597741
E: [email protected]
W: www.acumenlogistics.com

12th April 2012