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.