Green light for a green revolution in East London

The East London Waste Authority and Shanks Waste Services Limited have today (23 December) signed a 25-year waste management contract which will give recycling in the east London area a huge boost.

The agreement confirms Shanks as ELWA's partner in providing waste disposal and recycling services across four London boroughs - Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Newham and Redbridge - which between them generate over 535,000 tonnes of waste each year.

Recycling of household waste across the ELWA area will be increased to at least 25% by the end of 2006, rising to 33% by 2016. This will be achieved through a number of measures, including the expansion of kerbside collection schemes and the provision of recycling banks across the four boroughs.

Under the trading name shanks.east london, the new company will also create nearly 100 new jobs in the first five years and over £100 million will be invested in new waste management facilities over the life of the contract. This will enable ELWA to end its reliance on landfill and provide the ELWA area with a sustainable waste management service for the next 25 years.

Graham Farrant, Clerk to ELWA, explained that Shanks had been selected as preferred bidder for ELWA's integrated waste management contract earlier this year. He said: "I am very pleased that we have now signed this major contract and that Shanks will be able to begin working in East London. I am confident that the local community will soon see the benefits of the new service that Shanks is providing which will dramatically improve the way that rubbish is dealt with in our area."

For Shanks, Allan Barton, who will be the Managing Director of shanks.east london, said "Shanks is delighted to be working with ELWA. The new company will be increasing recycling levels, turning a large percentage of East London's rubbish into a resource that can then be reused. Together, we are aiming to significantly improve the level of recycling in the area to ensure that ELWA and the local Councils are amongst the top performers in the country.

"Our innovative solution for dealing with the rubbish also involves increased kerbside collection of recyclable materials, improvements to Reuse and Recycling Centres, waste minimisation initiatives, composting and the construction of two Bio-MRFs (Biological Materials Recycling and Recovery Facilities) at Frog Island, Rainham and Jenkins Lane, Newham."

Councillor Bill Dale, Chairman of ELWA, said: "The new service will bring about much needed investment to the waste management facilities that are provided in our area. In the next few years every resident in the ELWA area will receive a kerbside recycling collection service or have easy access to recycling banks. It has taken us several years to reach this point in time but all of the hard work has been very worthwhile. I would like to thank everyone that has helped us to achieve our goal, including the officers, our advisers and, of course, Shanks and its team."