NEWS : Post

'Box It'

Dartford Borough Council has recently rolled out its latest 'Box It' scheme in partnership with Straight plc. The tender for this scheme was uniquely designed so the successful contractor would deliver a comprehensive range of promotional and support services in addition to the manufacture and home delivery of 40,000 kerbside boxes with lids.

The 55 litre grab-rim kerbside boxes have replaced an existing clear sack scheme for the collection of co-mingled recyclables. Dartford Borough Council hope the move from sacks to boxes will increase recycling rates to meet the 25% government target for 2005/6.

Central to the additional services supplied is a telephone helpline that was run from Straight's Leeds-based contact centre but via a local Dartford telephone number. This was to help residents with any queries they may have had regarding the new scheme. More than 1400 residents took advantage of this service with all calls logged.

In addition Straight also set up a website to provide information and to assist with resident queries. Information on the site gave details on what to recycle, and dealt with frequently asked questions. Almost 1,000 hits have been recorded on the site since it was set up at the beginning of October.

In partnership with the Council, Straight staff also hit the roads of Dartford during October and November with the 'Box It' road shows. This included arranging and setting up the shows, supplying promotional panels to explain the scheme and being on hand to answer any questions.

Dave Thomas, Waste Management Officer at Dartford Borough Council said: "The new boxes make recycling easier and cheaper as they are more user-friendly and eliminate the continual cost of replacing and delivering clear sacks. The whole scheme has been extremely positively received by residents. Straight plc have supplied us with an all round professional and efficient first-class service that encompassed all aspects of the company from the use of their contact centre facilities to marketing skills to production and delivery of the boxes".