Ubico set to take on waste service for Gloucester City Council

Ubico set to take on waste service for Gloucester City Council

Ubico is set to take over the waste service on behalf of Gloucester City Council from the beginning of April.

With newest partner Gloucester City Council on board, Ubico will provide environmental services to 300,000 households, serving all boroughs and district councils in the county, and will employ over 900 staff.

Over the past year, Ubico and Gloucester City Council have been working to prepare for the take-over and from next month are set to deliver a value for money service to the people of Gloucester. Ubico will be looking to adjust the service where it can identify improvements but for the time being there will be no changes to existing rounds with schedules and staffing all staying the same.

As well as making the necessary preparations for the new service, Ubico has put in place measures to reduce the risk of impact to service from COVID-19 and the national driver shortage. These include offering existing and prospective employees the opportunity to take part in an 'earn to learn' scheme which sees Ubico covering the costs of qualifying for an LGV driving licence.

To help deliver the Gloucester service and to reduce the environmental impact in line with the city council's green commitments, Ubico has ordered a number of electric vehicles and will be installing electric charging points. New vehicles will have technology to monitor vehicle and driver performance to help drivers adjust their driving styles in order to reduce fuel usage and carbon emissions.

"We are incredibly excited to welcome the council into our partnership, start delivery of services into Gloucester City and to start working with our new colleagues at the depot. Detailed preparations made over the past year, in close partnership with our colleagues at Gloucester City Council, will ensure a smooth transition of the existing service into Ubico."

Beth Boughton, Managing Director at Ubico

Ubico is a wholly local authority-owned company, which provides an extensive range of environmental services to its partners including waste and recycling collections, grounds maintenance, street cleansing, building and toilet cleaning and household recycling centre management.

"We're delighted to be working with Ubico especially as shareholders we're able to work even more closely with our partners to make improvements and to get the best value service for taxpayers. We're also pleased that they share our environmental concerns and dedication to helping us meet our commitment to become a carbon neutral council."

Councillor Richard Cook, leader of Gloucester City Council