City Council among the most improved

(Date of issue: Tuesday, 16 December 2008)

Representatives from Carlisle City Council Waste Services Team and Transport team attended the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Performance Networks Awards at the Blackpool Hilton on the 4 December. TV presenter Denise Welch presented the awards as councils throughout the UK celebrated the best performers in local government front line services.

Carlisle City Council was shortlisted among the finalists in two categories, Best performer for refuse collection and Best performer for transport operations and vehicle maintenance. The event showcases some of the very best in public services, a celebration of achievement and excellence across the UK, announcing the best and most improved performers across front line services from among the 300 councils that take part.

The Transport Team manages and maintains all of the City Council’s 133 fleet vehicles, which includes servicing and undertaking MOT’S for our wide range of diverse vehicles, including refuse vehicles, service vans, tractors and mowing equipment including small construction plant. The team ensures vehicles are maintained to maximise operational efficiency and ideally stay on the road, spending as little time as possible in the workshop. This quick service allows our Waste Collection colleagues to continue to deliver a quality service to the public.

Performance information drawn together by Wastedataflow from 47 local authorities in the North West, places Carlisle as the best performing, with a 48% household recycling rate for 2007/2008. All UK figures audited by the Audit Commission also place Carlisle 24 out of all UK 398 local authorities. The figures are the result of City Council’s new waste collection scheme that included the expansion of kerbside recycling to thousands of householders last spring. The staggering 48.74% compares to 34.51% in 2006/2007.

The amount of household waste that ends up in landfill has also halved the amount land filled by the city in 2002. Five years ago, the City Council land filled 37,500 tonnes of rubbish from Carlisle households. That figure has been cut by 14,000 tonnes as a result of residents supporting Carlisle’s ‘recycling revolution’

Carlisle City Cllr Ray Bloxham portfolio holder for Environment and Infrastructure said:

‘’this event recognises the considerable effort of our waste services team have made to ensure that Carlisle is now the best recycling city in the North West and is one of the top 25 performing local authorities in the UK. All of which is underpinned by the skill of our transport operations and vehicle maintenance staff who ensure that our vehicle runs effectively and meets the demands placed on it."

Photograph above: Carlisle BP RC (Best performer for refuse collection category) left to right Mike Gardner (Waste Services Manager), Jan Magnay ( Waste Recycling Manager), Denise Welch (Actress and TV Presenter) and Allan Robinson (Waste Collection Manager)

Photograph above: Carlisle BP Trans (Best performer for transport operations and vehicle maintenance category) left to right Laurence Silverwood (Transport manager), Laura Greenhow (Transport Assistant) Denise Welch (Actress and TV Presenter) and Gordon Nicolson Head of Facilities.