Hertfordshire County Council is currently consulting on suggested changes for our 17 household waste recycling centres. We’ve already had more than 1,300 consultation responses and we’re keen to receive more.
The centres are run by external contractors and we’ve appointed AmeyCespa to run these on our behalf. We’ve asked them to put forward suggestions to improve efficiency and save money, while improving rates of reuse and recycling and maintaining a reliable service for residents.
We recognise that some of the service changes suggested by AmeyCespa may have an impact on our residents and want readers’ views on the following proposals: l Permanently closing the household waste recycling centres at Hoddesdon and Elstree.
l Changing the remaining 15 sites from a seven-day service to a five-day service, with the introduction of weekday closures.
l Changing opening times, with all sites opening from 8am to 4pm all year (except Buntingford, which will retain the existing three hours per day service).
Over the last four years, we have worked hard to deliver savings totalling £149million across the council while protecting essential frontline services. Due to further reductions in national funding and increasing demand for key services such as adult social care and children’s services, the county council needs to make similar savings over the next four years. If agreed, the changes suggested to our centres could mean that the service saves £6m over the next eight years.
We’re aware that questions have already been raised about matters like summer opening hours, the convenience of using another centre if your closest one is closed, and fly-tipping. The impact of the suggested changes has been considered and this information is available in the frequently asked questions section on our website www.hertsdirect.org/wastechanges The deadline for consultation responses is August 3, 2014. Please visit www.hertsdirect.org/wastechanges to give us your views. If you don’t have internet access, you can visit your local library where free access is available or you can request a paper copy there.
The results of the consultation will be presented to the Highways and Waste Management Panel on September 19 and then the cabinet will decide, having considered the responses to the consultation, whether to approve the suggested changes.
Terry Douris
Cabinet member for waste management Hertfordshire County Council
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