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Working in Partnership with Vale of White Horse District

Council

Annual Service Delivery

Report April 2008 To March 2009 Plan April 2009 To March 2010

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VALE OF WHITE HORSE ANNUAL WASTE CONTRACT REPORT FROM VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

CONTENTS PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF THIS REPORT 2. MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION 3. RESOURCES 4. REFUSE AND RECYCLING COLECTION 5. STREET CLEANSING SERVICE 6. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN

7. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, LOCAL AND REGIONAL 8. SUCCESSES AND FAILURES 9. PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES AND WORKING IN THE COMMUNITY 10. THE YEAR AHEAD, APRIL 2009 TO March 2010

Introduction

Background

Veolia Environmental Services acquired Cleanaway towards the end of 2007. This is seen as a massive opportunity for further development and continued capital investment into the municipal services market. Veolia’s large UK market share added to Cleanaway’s market share will bring many opportunities to potential new clients and our current combined clients. The impact of these changes locally will be in the ability to provide more comprehensive support to the local Contract Management team.

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The contract provision includes the following key services:-

� Refuse Collection � Recycling Collection � Street Cleansing � Brown Bin Scheme � Fast Road Cleansing

The contract is for seven years, until October 2010. The services are delivered to a resident population of 116,200 from 50,079 premises within an area of 580 square kilometres.

This Annual Service Delivery Plan and Report is an integral part of the contract that exists between Vale of White Horse Council and Veolia E.S. in so far as it is the agreed mechanism for the delivery of continuous improvement and is fundamental to the Contract’s performance management framework.

Scope 1. SCOPE

1.1. This report is provided as a requirement under Clause seven of the Waste Management Contract between the Vale of White Horse District Council and Veolia Environmental Services Ltd.

1.2. Clause 7 requires that Veolia shall provide a Performance and improvement report which includes a review of the performance and delivery of the Services during the previous Contract Year including

1.2.1 An update of progress on services set against the Joint improvement plans produced for all services.

1.2.2 A commentary on how Management and Supervision of the service delivery is being

developed. 1.2.3 An analysis of the Contract’s resources 1.2.4 A review of each of the main services, including successes and areas for improvement. 1.2.5 An analysis of local and national performance indicators 1.2.6 Working in Partnership together and working with the community 1.2.7 A look ahead at what is planned in the year ahead.

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2. Management & Supervision 2.1 Overview Below is the local Management and Supervision structure for the Contract. Added to the structure there is a Regional Area Support Manger.

Veolia Environmental Services VOWH Abingdon

Management Structure May 2009

Contract Manager Tony Birch

Operations / Environment Controller

Dave Abercrombie

Office Administration

Jackie Cullen

Refuse Recycling Streets Yard / Fleet

Supervisor Supervisor Supervisor Supervisor

Gary Gill T.B.A Kevin Clark Carlton Keast

Drivers Drivers Drivers Yard Foreman Clerks

Loaders Loaders Cleaners X 1

X 32 X 35 X 20 Loaders X 2

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2.2 Structure Detailed below is the Management structure within Veolia Environmental Services – West Region

D e c e mb e r 2 0 0 6

V e o l ia E n v ir o n m e n ta l S e r v ic e s

Mu n ici p al – W e st R e gi on O p era t io n al Stru ctu re

Ia n W il liam s

D ire c tor

S h a u n Do n o h u e

R eg i o n a l M a n a ge r

G ar y C a i el s

Re g io n a l Ma n a g e r

P a u l Cu n n in g to n

R e g io n a l Ma n a g er

D a v id Re y n o ld s

B u s i ne s s S up p o r t

M a na g e r

C h or l e y

B u rnl e y

B la c kp o o l

S ol i h u ll

T a m wo rt h

T r af f o rd

W arw ic k

K e rr i er

Me n d i p

No rt h S o m er se t

S e d g em o o r

S t ro u d

T a un to n De a n e

W e st S o m e rs et

W e st W i l t sh i re

B as i n g sto k e & De a n e

E as t Ha n t s

P or ts m o u t h

Ru sh m o o r

S u rre y H ea t h

V al e o f W h it e H ors e

W a ve rl e y

W es t O xf o rd sh i re

W in d s or & Ma i d e n he a d

W yc o mb e

Mi k e P e rri n

C on t ra c t Ma n a g e r

L iv e rp o o l

R ic h a rd Br isl e n

H ea l t h a n d S af e t y

M a n a g er

2.3 Support The traditional Head Office functions such as HR, IT, Procurement, Fleet Management, Finance and Compliance are provided via the Head Office support network. Following the Veolia takeover and subsequent internal restructure, the Vale of White Horse contract now sits within the Municipal Western Division headed by the Director Ian Williams, who in turn has delegated the business into three regions, with the Vale of White Horse contract now sitting within Paul Cunnington’s region, known as South Central. Veolia’s concept for providing support to the local management team is through harnessing the wider resources of Veolia with specific support being provided for specific projects. Examples of this project support will include:

Mentoring and Development of Contract Manager and other key members of the local team. Operational support for set up and roll out of new service developments. Business Development support for developing new services and improved methods. Systems support for improvement to current complaints management, communications systems and customer responsiveness. Finance and Administration support to improve procedures, including Client invoicing and payments to Client. Personnel and Industrial Relations support in respect of the management of the workforce. Fleet Management support for fleet operations.

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2.4 Training and Development It is Veolia’s policy that all staff both new and existing undergo a thorough induction programme to help them deliver the service standards expected in a safe and professional manner. The Veolia Environment Development Centre is the Company’s national training centre, located at Staines. We have completed a training needs analysis and from that have nominated a range of our staff for a series of training courses at this facility. A sample of training successfully completed during the past year includes, Certificate of Professional Competence in National Road Haulage LGV Class Two Environmental Legislation Finance Management Manual Handling Driver Assessing NVQ Level 2 in Waste and Recycling Collection Annual Re-induction for All Operatives

The Veolia Induction Programme introduces all employees to the company, as well as taking them through a full Health & Safety Programme. Future training needs identified include the continuation of NVQ level 2 in Waste and Recycling Collection. This will be provided by an accredited NVQ assessor working out of the Veolia Environmental Development Centre. Other Training courses identified for the coming year include: Veolia Management support training for Supervisors and Managers SAFED training for all LGV drivers Health and Safety Tool Box training sessions

2.5 Management of Health and Safety Veolia is committed to the effective management of Health and Safety, and has in place a range of systems and processes. In order to satisfy compliance, the Company requires that each of its locations be audited annually. A member from the Company’s team of safety professionals will carry out an audit and inspections, which usually takes place within the operating depot. In addition all contracts have a safety committee comprising of members from both the workforce and management. The committee holds a formal bi-monthly meeting to review safety and assess future requirements. It then prepares and forwards as appropriate, its findings and recommendations into the corporate process within Veolia. There are also numerous monthly reports that are prepared at a local level and fed into the main reporting structure, these are monitored by senior management.

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Much work has and continues to be been done to improve the Health and Safety of all the company’s operations throughout the country, this has contributed to the success of the Vale of White Horse Contract achieving an OHSAS 18001 accreditation in September 2008 The policy within Veolia, is for the constant ‘drip feed’ of H&S information particularly as the waste industry has the worst safety record within the UK. This information is provided through the mediums of QHSE Alerts A very visible poster campaign An ongoing series of Tool Box talks on specific subjects. This includes ensuring that all employees are properly inducted prior to commencing work, PPE and uniforms are available and worn, and that the general housekeeping of the depot is maintained. The aim is to instil some basic principles and to nurture a positive health and safety culture within the operation. This is achieved by encouraging employees to be actively involved in reporting safety concerns and near misses to line management. Not only is it important that we focus on safety and health, the fact that our staff wear company clothing helps to demonstrate our professionalism and maintain a successful Veolia brand.

2.6 Quality Management The company is committed to providing quality services to its customers, and has a policy for seeking external verification for the processes that help to deliver those services. To this end our operation at Vale of White Horse was accredited with the ISO 9001 certificate in December 2003 and OHSAS 18001 in September 2008 To ensure retention of accreditation, an annual audit is carried out by one of the approved auditing companies.

3 Resources

3.1 Labour

We enjoy a good working relationship with the local and regional organisers from the Unions of Unite and the GMB.

The following tables show the current staffing levels for all services.

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REFUSE and RECYCLING COLLECTION

Round Crew Size Total Staff Refuse Crew 1 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 2 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 3 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 4 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 5 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 6 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 11 Driver + 1 Loader 2 Narrow Cage Driver + 1 Loader 2 Bulk bins Driver + 1 Loader 2 Clinical Driver 1 Bulky items Driver + 1 Loader 2 Recycling Crew 1 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 2 Driver + 2 Loaders 3

Crew 3 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 4 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 5 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 6 Driver + 2 Loaders 3

Crew 7 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 8 Driver + 2 Loaders 3 Crew 9 Driver + 1 Loader 2

Crew 10 Driver + 1 Loader 2 Crew 11 Driver + 1 Loader 2 Crew 1 Green Waste Driver + 1 Loader 2 Crew 2 Green Waste Driver + 1 Loader 2 Crew 3 Green Waste Driver + Loader 2 Crew 4 Green Waste Driver + Loader 2 Narrows Cage Driver 1 Basket deliveries Driver 1

STREET CLEANSING Round Crew Size Total Staff

Suction Sweepers LargeSuctionSweeper Driver 1 LargeSuctionSweeper Driver 1 Abingdon Mobile Driver + 1 Operative 2 Faringdon Mobile Driver + 1 Operative 2 Wantage Mobile Driver + 1 Operative 2 Drayton Mobile Driver + 1 Operative 2 Botley Mobile Driver + 1 Operative 2 Abingdon Barrow Orderly 3 Operatives 3 Faringdon Barrow Orderly 1 Operative 1 Wantage Barrow Orderly 1 Operative 1 Fast Roads Crew 1 1 Driver 1 Fast Roads Crew 2 1 Driver 1

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3.2 Fleet

Now that the fleet is six years old, in particular the refuse and recycling freighters, we are investing in their refurbishment. Body floors and hoppers together with hydraulics and electrics is where there our investment is needed. Not surprisingly, the suction sweepers are now also becoming a costly item to remain in operation. We have sourced an additional cage vehicle for the extra recycling narrows round

The tables below show the current fleet profiles available to the services.

REFUSE SERVICE Registration Vehicle Type Use VX53CYG DENNIS EAGLE REFUSE VU53CYH DENNIS EAGLE REFUSE VX53CYJ DENNIS EAGLE REFUSE VX53CYK DENNIS EAGLE REFUSE VX53CYL DENNIS EAGLE REFUSE VX53CYO DENNIS EAGLE / TERBERG REFUSE VX53CYP DENNIS EAGLE / TERBERG REFUSE VX53CYT DENNIS EAGLE / TERBERG REFUSE VX53CYU DENNIS EAGLE / TERBERG REFUSE EA06GXN FORD BOX VAN CLINICAL FP53EYR DAF 7.5t CAGE TIPPER BULKY ITEMS FM52 FVO DASF 7.5t CAGE TIPPER REFUSE VU57 YNL DENNIS EAGLE / TERGERG GREEN WASTE VU57 YNN MERCEDES NORBA / GEESINK GREEN WASTE VX51GMF DENNIS EAGLE / TERBERG GREEN WASTE VU52SFF DENNIS EAGLE / TERBERG GREEN WASTE

RECYCLING SERVICE Registration Vehicle Type Use VX04FUP DENNIS EAGLE / KERBSIDER RECYCLING VX04FUT DENNIS EAGLE / KERBSIDER RECYCLING VX04FUU DENNIS EAGLE / KERBSIDER RECYCLING VX04FUV DENNIS EAGLE / KERBSIDER RECYCLING VX04FUW DENNIS EAGLE / KERBSIDER RECYCLING VX04FUY DENNIS EAGLE / KERBSIDER RECYCLING VX04FVA DENNIS EAGLE / KERBSIDER RECYCLING VX04FVB DENNIS EAGLE / KERBSIDER RECYCLING VX04FVD DENNIS EAGLE / TOPLOADER RECYCLING X485EBM ISUZU 7.5t STILLAGE RECYCLING KE03XEC DAF 12.5t STILLAGE RECYCLING VU02OGG DENNIS EAGLE / KERBSIDER RECYCLING FP02XSH 3.5t LDV/CAGE/TIPPER RECYCLING

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STREET CLEANSING Registration Vehicle Type Use FJ53PGX 3.5t LDV/CAGE/TIPPER STREET CLEANSING FJ53PGY 3.5t LDV/CAGE/TIPPER STREET CLEANSING FJ53PGZ 3.5t LDV/CAGE/TIPPER STREET CLEANSING FJ53PHA 3.5t LDV/CAGE/TIPPER STREET CLEANSING FJ53PHF 3.5t LDV/CAGE/TIPPER STREET CLEANSING FP53EZX LARGE JOHNSTON SWEEPER STREET CLEANSING FP53EZZ LARGE JOHNSTON SWEEPER STREET CLEANSING BF04PCY CITROEN RELAY STREET CLEANSING FP02XSJ 3.5t LDV/CAGE/TIPPER STREET CLEANSING S754YAN DAF 7.5t CAGE TIPPER STREET CLEANSING

3.3 Depot

The Thrupp Lane Depot is located at the premises owned and operated by J Curtis & Sons Ltd, the Company has leased several operational areas (materials bulking area, workshops & lorry park) and offices for a period of 7 years and 1 month commencing on 1 October 2003. Although the yard is large we can only operate on the areas leased by the Company, which restricts flexibility. The terms of the lease also prevent us from putting in permanent structures on rented ground. Our Operator’s Licence allows us to operate our fleet of 25 heavy goods vehicles without time restrictions. Our vehicles are in Veolia ownership and are all fully registered with VOSA. We operate a four weekly preventative maintenance regime, which not only ensures efficiencies such as fuel economy but also compliance with vehicle serviceability & safety regulations. All HGV vehicles have a minimum of Euro 3 engine specification and emissions reducing exhaust systems. The Radley depot also incorporates a bulking station which enables the tipping and short term storage of sorted recyclate and because we store only pre sorted recyclate the Environment Agency allow us to operate a waste management licensing exemption under Regulations 17 & 18 and Schedule 3 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 – Part 2. The access along Thrupp Lane to the depot is far from ideal for LGV operations due to its narrowness and three sharp bends prior to entering the industrial site. Of late the residents at the top of the lane, on the junction with Radley Road, have complained about early morning vehicle movements. Although we have the right to operate in an unrestricted manner we now do so under a ‘good neighbour’ policy and control vehicle movements to a minimum prior to 6am each morning. We have an open door policy with Chairman of the neighbourhood watch committee for Thrupp Lane who has not raised any concerns during the past twelve months

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4. Residual and Recycling Collection

4.1 Residual Waste Collection The quality and reliability of this service has a significant impact on how positively both the Council and the Contractor are perceived by the residents of the District Council. This was identified last year as a key result area in the joint improvement plan adopted.

In section 7, Performance Indicators, we detail and analyse the service performance for the 2008/2009 year. In summary, Veolia acknowledge that this is an area of the service where improvements are still sought and the detailed actions in the 2009/2010 continuous improvement plan have been set as clear objectives for Managers, Supervisors and the staff involved. We are analysing the performance on a crew by crew basis, then at Contract level then by comparing the Vale of White Horse Contract to other Refuse Collection operations.

4.2 Recycling Collection Service In common with the residual waste collection, the quality and reliability of this collection service has a significant impact on how positively both the Council and the Contractor are perceived by the residents of the District Council. This was identified last year as a key result area in the continuous improvement plan adopted.

In section 6, Performance Indicators, we detail and analyse the service performance for the 2007/2009 years. Since being part of the joint improvement plan we have seen a very significant service improvement to our green box and brown delivery schedules In respect of Green box and Brown bin deliveries, we are working with Officers of the Council to specifically ensure continued improvement of our performance figures on these deliveries. We are doing this via joint commitments provided through the continuous improvement plan. Recycling crew behaviour was high profile at the start of the year with complaints being received regarding box placement, this was addressed with further training and closer monitoring by Veolia management

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Successes in Recycling Targets There has been significant success in the increase of the percentage of Vale of White Horse Council’s tonnage that is now being recycled, with the 34% target figure having been achieved, the achieved figure being 36%, this is largely due to the continued successful expansion of the Brown Bin, Green Waste collection service, with membership growing to approx 13000 customers by the end of April 2009 and still growing. Participation remains high in the Green Box dry recyclables scheme with tonnage yields still growing.

5 Street Cleansing Service Street cleansing can be one of the most difficult services to deliver. Just as soon as the street is cleansed, it begins to deteriorate and in some area can appear within a very short time as though it had not been cleaned. Below is our streets staffing structure:

Abingdon Barrow3 Operatives

Abingdon MobileDriver + 1 Operative

Botley MobileTypeDriver + 1 Operative

Faringdon BarrowOperative

Faringdon MobileDriver + 1 Operative

Drayton MobileDriver + 1 Operative

Wantage BarrowOperative

Wantage MobileDriver + 1 Operative

Sweeper 1Driver

Sweeper 2Driver

Fast Road Service2 Drivers

Supervisor

Our previous to one NI 195 score was disappointing, since then a concerted effort was but in place by the streets supervisor and his operatives, this has brought about a complete turnaround with our latest score being well within the targeted requirement. On a further positive note we have through the leaf clearing season received complements from both the Council and residents in our handling of this massive clear up.

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6 Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP)

Following on from the success of the Joint Improvement Plan last year, it was jointly agreed to continue with the format, but rename it as the CIP – Continuous Improvement Plan. It proved to be a very useful tool, that was reviewed and updated regularly throughout the year. Most of the objectives were achieved, the remaining couple it was agreed that we would carry forward as it was felt that there was room for further development.

7 Performance Indicators

The councils CRM system records all reported misses, these are audited by Veolia by classifying where the cases are justified. All reported misses are audited and results feedback to the council detailing the actual missed lift figures. The chart below shows CRM reported cases by quarter for the period 07/08 – 08/09 . There is a peak during the 2nd quarter of 07/08, this reflects where service was affected during the period of the flooding in the district and again during 4th quarter of 08/09 this was the effect of the heavy snow fall in the area when services where suspended for two days These missed figures are expressed as reported missed collections per 100,000, audited figures are in line with other Veolia contracts The 1st quarter of 09 showed a real marked improvement with refuse at 33 and green boxes at 49

Reported Missed Collections Per 100,000 Scheduled Collections

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Q1

2007/8

Q2

2007/8

Q3

2007/8

Q4

2007/8

Q1

2008/9

Q2

2008/9

Q3

2008/9

Q4

2008/9

Refuse

Green Boxes

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8 Successes and Failures

8.1 Working with the Community

We have participated in the local voluntary litter picks which take place in the local villages and towns, for example Grove, Wantage – we join the village working party in the morning and work with them and remove all waste collected at the end of the session – materials are then either taken for disposal or recycling. In addition we have worked with VOWH Council in putting together packs for these community litter picks including sacks, gloves, litter picking sticks and Hi-Vis vests – as shown below.

Volunteers from the communal litter pick outside the Old Mill Hall, Grove, Wantage.

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8.2 Abingdon Town Council

The clean up operation during and after the Michaelmas fair was a great success with litter pickers covering twenty hours per day, the Town Council where more than appreciative with our efforts

8.3 NI 195 Score Our main significant failure during this period was in respect of the NI 195 score, particularly towards the end of the reporting period. As mentioned earlier in the report, corrective action has been taken and results to date this year are encouraging

9 Partnership Working

Veolia have enjoyed building a working relationship with the Vale of White Horse Officer team led by Mike Mackay. We have built on some excellent examples of constructive Partnership working, such as the continuous Improvement plan detailed earlier in this report and improved recycling figures. Veolia were both saddened and disappointed to find that they had not been elected to go forward to the second stage of bidding for the new joint contract with Vale of White Horse District Council and South Oxfordshire Council due to start in October 2010, but be assured that we are committed to providing a good, effective and responsive level of service for you up until this date

10 The Year Ahead April 2009 to March 2010 The coming year will again be a challenging one, with key features being as follows: The continued roll out of the expanding Brown Bin scheme, which just keeps going from strength to strength.

The autumn usually brings another set of problems when the leaves start to fall. Based on the past three years leaf clearance, the season was relatively long and quite drawn out and we did find one year, that during the early part of the season, we struggled to find enough work to keep the extra resource, fully employed.

The provision of specific external project support to the local team will be used to make improvements to the way Veolia operate the Contract. The driving forward of improvements through the 2009 / 2010 continuous improvement plan will be a key area of work.

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In respect of the continued drive for more sustainable working methods, Veolia are currently researching the potential use of vehicles that have alternative power sources. Historically, the waste industry has dabbled in the use of gas powered vehicles and an assortment of other fuels with little success. However technology is moving quite quickly particularly with the need to reduce carbon emissions and there is now available, some real alternative fuel powered vehicle. So the reliance entirely on oil will hopefully reduce, with the introduction of workable alternatives including bio diesel.

Tony Birch, Contracts Manager

Paul Cunnington, Regional Operations Manager.

Ian Williams, Municipal Services Director.