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November 2005
Dartford ‘Box It’ with Straight
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.
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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”.
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