A company called Serco has been appointed to provide weekly waste and recycling collections across Ascot, Maidenhead and Windsor.

The new contract will continue to offer weekly waste and recycling collections including food waste, mixed recycling and general waste, as well as the fortnightly subscribed green waste collection service.

It will see the introduction of a more sustainable fleet of collection trucks using hybrid technology that reduces carbon emissions by 30 per cent compared to standard trucks.

Under the new contract recycled and garden waste will be collected together further helping to reduce emissions and cut mileage. The trucks will also have 'whisper quiet' electric bin lifts which will also help reduce carbon emissions and the noise associated with conventional hydraulic lifts.

Cllr Gerry Clark, the Royal Borough's lead member for sustainability, waste services and economic development, said: “We are delighted to award this important contract to Serco following a competitive tender process. Their commitment to reducing carbon emissions and making recycling easier for our residents, while maintaining weekly collections made them a standout supplier.

“With a long history of waste collections in England, we are confident Serco will maintain the excellent quality of service to our residents with no change to weekly bin collections.”

In addition to managing the borough’s recycling and civic amenity site in Maidenhead, a range of new initiatives will be introduced as part of the new contract to help encourage and make it easier for residents to recycle. One of the schemes will see Serco link up with local charities to increase recycling rates and the introduction of kerbside recycling for batteries and small electrical items. It’s hoped these new initiatives will encourage more residents to recycle.

The contract will run eight years.