More than £1.7million is to be ploughed into South Holland’s weekly rubbish collections after the district was successful in its bid for Government cash.
The announcement that South Holland District Council had been granted the cash to replace its ageing fleet of bin lorries with eight new environmentally-friendly ones, as well as run a massive publicity campaign to drive up recycling and improve waste disposal, came in the same week that Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles warned other councils they could lose funds if they do not run a weekly collection.
Mr Pickles said it is a “basic human right” to have rubbish collected weekly – something which South Holland District Council leader Gary Porter is a strong supporter of.
He said: “Eric Pickles feels strongly that weekly collections are the right thing to do, as do we.
“This cash is great news for South Holland and is a fantastic reward for a piece of work we started nearly four years ago.
“The quality of the bid and of the existing service played a major part in us getting so much from an oversubscribed pot.”
The council’s bid included a pledge to maintain the current pattern of collections and to improve service delivery, environmental performance and its cost effectiveness.
A total of £1,768,050 will be paid out in three instalments from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) with the project running for five years.
South Holland portfolio holder for waste management, Councillor Roger Gambba-Jones, said: “We have always been committed to providing a weekly collection service to our residents. This funding will ensure that we can continue to do so, without impacting other council services.
“It will also help us to support our residents in their ambition to recycle more of their household waste, thereby reducing the amount having to be disposed of.”