Merton Council is preparing to agree changes to how it delivers some environmental services at its 10 November cabinet.

In the face of having to make £32 million savings due to reduced funding coming from central government, the council is looking at how it can provide quality refuse and recycling collections, street cleaning and parks maintenance that give value for tax payers’ money.

As part of the award-winning South London Waste Partnership (Merton, Sutton, Kingston and Croydon), the council is looking at commissioning an environmental services company to manage the borough’s waste and parks services from April 2017.

The council will continue to have overall responsibility for the ongoing management of its waste services and extensive parks and green spaces.

Merton Council cabinet member for environmental cleanliness and parking Councillor Judy Saunders said: “The council’s funding from central government has been reduced and we are facing £32m of cuts. As in previous years cabinet has agreed that children’s services and social services for older people should have less of a share of the cuts. The economies of scale available working with three other boroughs, means we can save at least £1m per year. This will help ensure we can continue to have weekly collections and a weekly street sweep despite government cuts to our funding. No redundancies are expected as staff will transfer to the new employer and we will be keeping them fully informed.”

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