Published: 10/02/2016
Copeland Council has scored top marks for its great value waste collection services.
The authority came first among 35 other authorities for the cost of its kerbside "black box" recycling service. The figures, from the Association of Public Service Excellence, measure the yearly cost of the service per household. In Copeland kerbside recycling cost just £8.42, compared to a national average of £27.34.
The impressive figure is partly due to the council successfully selling much of the collected material and using this income to offset costs. Councils often struggle to sell recyclables in a volatile market and sometime end up paying to have them taken away.
Copeland also offers fantastic value with its household waste collections. It costs £25.76 per household each year to deliver this service, compared to an average of £50.05. This puts the authority second in a list of 14 similar authorities. When all 50 of the councils who took part are considered, Copeland came fourth from top.
Copeland waste staff can also be proud of their absence/sickness record – it is the lowest of all 42 authorities who took part. It is just 3.1 per cent, compared to an average of 7.07 per cent.
The authority fares above average on the number of missed collections. The average is 58 per 100,000 collections, but Copeland’s figure is lower at 42 per 100,000. This represents a success rate of 99.9 per cent.
Coun David Banks, Copeland’s portfolio holder for customers and communities, said: “These figures are fantastic and I’m delighted to see the staff’s hard work recognised. We endeavour to make our waste service efficient and good value for money. There have been budget challenges in recent years, but this shows that we are among the best when it comes to delivering this service.”
