Biffa will be introducing new slimline refuse vehicles – Mick Harper–Shutterstock
Waste management provider Biffa has won an eight-year deal with Winchester City Council in Hampshire to create a refuse strategy including lower-emission vehicles and free electrical items collections.
Biffa’s services will cover household waste and recycling using improved technology to help the local authority to achieve its sustainability goals – including its goal to become carbon-neutral by 2024.
New slimline refuse vehicles – designed to emit fewer pollutants will replace older, higher emissions-producing models – will be deployed across the area, resulting in cleaner air for the district. The vehicles are also fitted with new onboard technology offering real-time data to the council and Biffa about missed collections or other problems.
Biffa will also be introducing a free collection of small defunct household electrical items. These will be taken to Biffa’s electrical waste recycling depots for recycling where feasible.
Simon Baddeley, Biffa’s commercial director, said: “It is more important than ever to ensure that we’re managing our customers’ waste as sustainably as possible to reduce the impact of waste on the environment.
“Helping our customers to recycle more and reduce carbon emissions is a key part of our long-term sustainability strategy. The new electrical recycling collections and lower emissions vehicles will help Winchester manage waste in a more environmentally friendly way.”
Campbell Williams, service lead for environmental services at the council, said: “We have been working with Biffa during the Covid-19 pandemic and the performance of their crews has been fantastic during this period, and we are aiming to build on this relationship.”