Spelthorne is pleased to issue the annual report for Spelthorne Direct Services (SDS), our waste management company, which can be read here.
In October 2020, Spelthorne Borough Council declared a climate emergency and recognised the need to lead by example and work with residents and businesses to achieve cleaner and greener lifestyles.
As part of our commitment to the local business community and the environment, we launched SDS in 2020 to provide a range of locally based commercial services that would help businesses improve their efficiencies and reduce their supply chain footprint.
SDS started by offering general waste and mixed recycling collections, but have since added single stream collections (food, cardboard, and garden waste). It further expanded their waste collections in 2022 by adding ‘event bin’ and ‘bin store clearance’ services. In the 2022 customer satisfaction survey, SDS achieved a 97% score.
For every tonne of general waste that SDS diverts from landfill, we save approximately 1.5 tonnes of CO2 going into the atmosphere. General waste collected by SDS between August 2022 and March 2023 has produced approximately 215,000KW1 hours of electricity, which goes back into the National grid, helping reduce the need for coal or diesel fuelled energy production.
SDS currently has around 300 commercial customers, including the Elmsleigh Shopping Centre, three residential apartment blocks and a large residential estate. Working alongside the Elmsleigh Centre, our primary goals were to reduce waste collection costs and increase the amount of waste that was being recycled and to date this has increased by 30%.
Cllr John Doran, Chair of the Neighbourhood Services Committee, said: “I am delighted with the progress Spelthorne Direct Services has made over the past 12 months. We have been growing our customer base and also helping other businesses in the Borough work towards net zero, which is one of our key corporate priorities.”
SDS plans include grounds maintenance for commercial sites, bin washing, and bulky waste collections in the coming years.
For further information visit www.spelthornedirectservices.co.uk or call 01784 605620
1 this produces electricity which would run 75 houses for a year or 27,000 houses for a day
