Hambleton and Richmondshire District Councils have awarded the contract to provide waste and recycling vehicles to Specialist Fleet Services.The councils have started a new initiative in working together to procure refuse trucks.

“This is the first time that we have jointly procured vehicles and there have been lots of positives from combining the expertise from both authorities,” said Director of Hambleton District Council, Mick Jewitt, who manages the waste and recycling service for both councils.

”The two councils now work much more closely together which gives us greater flexibility in terms of fleet optimisation. Specialist Fleet Services has gone to great lengths to offer vehicle specification options to suit the different geography of the districts ' including the need for narrow vehicles to navigate the rural roads of Richmondshire. “

He said that Specialist Fleet Services offered the best value not just in terms of price but also in terms of the overall package ' fleet management, maintenance, on site engineers and a single contact point for problems.

“Not having to worry about vehicle availability frees us to focus on delivering the best possible service to our residents,” he added.

The 3+1+1 year contract is made up of 15 RCV's - 10x Dennis Elite 2 6x4 standard width Olympus body with OmniDEL Xtra bin lifts for Hambleton and 5x Dennis Elite 2 6x2 narrow mid-lift Olympus body with OmniDEL standard bin lifts.