On Tuesday 2nd July, we held the latest in our event series, Better Waste Services Live: Garden Waste 2024. Bigger and better than ever before, speakers and attendees from local councils and industry-leading waste management organisations gathered at Birmingham’s Park Regis Hotel for a day of learning, networking and sharing expertise and experience.
Because waste management can sometimes seem a little, well, bland, we decided we’d have a theme. So, the PermiServ team wore their boldest and brightest outfits, all in the name of bringing a burst of colour to a beige industry.
Highlights of the day included a talk from Erewash Borough Council on their immensely successful communications campaign which resulted in 32,000 garden waste subscriptions, an in-depth look at how Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council implemented their chargeable garden waste service, and the lessons learnt by Cannock Chase District Council when they introduced garden waste collections.
And there was more… Tim Read-Lamb, Operations Manager at Basildon Borough Council, got into the nitty-gritty of transitioning to a chargeable service, and the team from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council talked budgets, software and direct debits. In the best-titled talk of the day – ‘I work in garden waste, send help!’ – Sally Rose of Cheshire East Council shared how the council implemented a digital system for co-mingled waste and food, and the details of their comprehensive 8-month campaign. We also had a live Q&A session, where our audience had their questions answered by our panel of experts.
A driving factor in the delivery of our live events is our belief in celebrating excellence in the sector, so we were delighted to present our award for ‘Best Practice in Garden Waste’ to Ipswich Borough Council. Personally selected by LARAC Chair Catherine Cook, the team at Ipswich were praised for their work on contamination (an often-forgotten issue in garden waste), missed collections and their community-spirited education initiatives, in which they promote environmentally beneficial actions like composting.
“It was a fantastic event, and we are so grateful to all our speakers and attendees. We really appreciate all the support everyone gave us on the day,” said PermiServ Sales Director Louise Lambourne. “As more and more councils move to chargeable services, we love bringing them together so they can share wisdom and learn from each other.”
If you were unable to attend the event but would like any of the recorded talks sent to you, please email rebecca@permiserv.com with #GardenWaste2024 in the subject line. And watch this space – we’ll certainly be back with further events, both in person and online, as we continue our mission to drive innovation and excellence in the garden waste industry.
