East Herts and North Herts Councils have appointed Veolia to deliver recycling and waste collections and street cleansing services as part of a new £108m eight-year contract, which started on 4 May 2025.

The new contract provides recycling and waste collections and street cleansing services for residents across East and North Hertfordshire. Increasing recycling will be a key priority, as well as delivering more sustainable services to support East and North Hertfordshire Councils’ ambitions to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Recycling capacity will be increased through the introduction of a separate bin dedicated to paper and cardboard, and the acceptance of plastic film in dry mixed recycling which also includes glass, metal and plastic items such as tubs and trays.

Weekly food waste collections, which are already available in North Herts, will be introduced to homes across East Herts and carried out with new, dedicated collection vehicles. This will not only increase residents’ access to recycling but ensure compliance with upcoming Simpler Recycling policy changes.

Veolia will introduce new electric street cleansing equipment in high footfall areas like town centres to maximise efficiency and to reduce the number of sacks left on busy streets and in pedestrian areas.

Veolia is supporting East Herts and North Herts Councils’ net zero ambitions with alternative fuels, using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for larger collection vehicles, combined with the electrification of smaller vehicles in the fleet to minimise carbon emissions.

Pascal Hauret, Managing Director for Municipal at Veolia, commented: “We aim to enhance collection services and improve street cleanliness, whilst supporting the Councils on their journey to net-zero by decarbonising our operations through the introduction of new collection vehicles and electric street cleansing equipment.”

www.veolia.com