Bristol City Centre BID (Business Improvement District) is entering into a partnership with Veolia to deliver a new waste collection service to city centre businesses that aims to improve commercial recycling and improve street aesthetics.
Available to over 780 business in the city centre, the new waste collection service, which starts this month, is one of the key initiatives the BID has chosen to focus on since its formation.
Bristol City Centre BID is a recent initiative which formally came into existence in November 2017. Its mission is to drive Bristol city centre forward, using its £1.2m annual budget.
It is hoped the service will save businesses money, improve street aesthetics and drive up recycling rates. Levy payers across multiple sectors will be able to access the service, although it will also be possible for smaller businesses that aren’t required to pay the levy to opt into the service, so long as they make a contribution to the BID.
Bristol City Centre BID Development Manager, Keith Rundle – “The new service delivers great value for our levy payers and we are confident that the needs of our local businesses will be met. It will improve the streets of Bristol city centre for everyone by helping to address some key issues around waste being left out overnight.”
A collaborative service model has major benefits for users of trade waste collection services. Consolidating the market helps to improve collection logistics and allow cheaper and more frequent collections. A central contract with the BID ensures that the waste collector is held to a high standard of service and can’t exploit its strengthened position in the market to the disadvantage of businesses.
The BID selected Veolia through a competitive bidding process, designed by environmental consultants Eunomia, which looked at both price and quality of service. Veolia will be collecting a range of material streams, with residual and mixed recycling collections available seven days a week (once the service is fully established). As more levy payers join the scheme, additional services such as evening collections will be made available.
Businesses aren’t obliged to join the scheme, but by voluntarily working together the BID hopes that they will repeat the success of similar schemes elsewhere in the UK – for example, over 60% of businesses in Bath have opted into a similar waste collection contract. All participating businesses will have access to dedicated Veolia account manager, ensuring their individual needs are met.
Bristol City Centre BID Development Manager, Keith Rundle said: “The new service delivers great value for our levy payers and we are confident that the needs of our local businesses will be met. It will improve the streets of Bristol city centre for everyone by helping to address some key issues around waste being left out overnight.”
Bristol City Centre BID will play an ongoing role, monitoring how Veolia performs against a number of key performance indicators which include reducing the number of missed collections and increasing recycling rates. The BID will also work with Veolia to resolve any service issues and ensure that prices stay low over the lifetime of the contract.
Terence Davies, Veolia’s Regional Development Manager for the South West said: “We are delighted to have this opportunity to work with Bristol City Centre BID. We are excited to see what we can do to drive the city centre forward over the next few years.”
