Four East Sussex councils have jointly awarded a ten-year contract to deliver waste and recycling collections, street cleansing and beach cleaning to Kier.

The East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership is formed of Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council, Rother District Council and Wealden District Council. East Sussex County Council, as the waste disposal authority, has also agreed to the scheme.

The contract also requires Kier to manage and market collected dry recycling, enabling the partnership to realise the value of material as a resource.

The contract, which will cover nearly 200,000 properties over a 550 square mile area, is expected to save the partnership an estimated £30m over the next decade.

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Awarded after a process of competitive dialogue, the circa £12m per annum contract will have an optional ten-year extension. There will be a phased start to the four councils' services, with Eastbourne and Wealden beginning on 1 April 2013, followed by Hastings in July 2013 and Rother in April 2014.

"We are delighted to have been selected by the partnership in what was a very competitive bidding process," said Nicola Peake, managing director of Kier’s environmental business.

"Our first priority will be to immediately mobilise our expertise to ensure we can start providing the very best service from day one.

"Our overall vision is to unify the provision of services across the partnership area to provide best value for residents and a truly integrated environmental service, which meets and surpasses the aims and aspirations of the Partnership, residents and local business.

"A contract management process has been agreed with the Partnership to ensure the service maintains a high standard."

(CD/GK)