Rutland County Council is proposing to invest up to £2.069m on refuse and recycling vehicles in order to improve its waste and recycling collection and disposal services for residents.

This follows multiple incidents in recent months of delayed collections and breakdowns, causing frustration among residents.

The existing waste and recycling collections contract includes the provision of vehicles to deliver the service. 

The impact of the aged vehicles is now being felt in the current service delivery as vehicle breakdowns are becoming more frequent. Whilst all collections are completed within a couple of days, it is difficult to complete collection rounds on the scheduled day on a regular basis.

The Cabinet, after discussing options, have decided to support the purchase of 15 new vehicles which will allow significant cost savings to be achieved compared to leasing.  

New refused and recycling vehicles would prevent further collection delays. Image credit: Nub News.

Rutland County Council's Portfolio Holder for Highways, Transport and Environment, Cllr Christine Wise, said: "Our main priority is to ensure that the waste and recycling service that our residents receive is improved and to a standard that they deserve.

"We understand that due to aging vehicles there have been some issues and delays in collections and therefore by ensuring that we are investing in new vehicles we aim to address and resolve these problems.

"Going forward the Council is also keen to achieve reductions in carbon emissions and improve air quality as part of its green agenda and so we are pleased to be able to begin the process of planning to implement greener vehicles."

The report and minutes of the meeting can be found online, with redactions due to 'commercial reasons'. 

Rutland County Council will continue to keep residents updated throughout the process and hope to have the new vehicles in operation by May 2024.

Proposals for the investment are supported by Cabinet and will be decided by Full Council on 4 September.