WEST Devon Borough Council says its decision to bring its household waste and recycling service in-house next year is the “best value for money option” for the taxpayer.

The council’s eight year current contract with FCC Environment is scheduled to end in April 2027 and it won’t be renewed.

All staff currently employed by FCC to provide the service will transfer to the council.

WDBC said its decision “reflects the council’s commitment to delivering a high-quality, resilient and sustainable service for residents by having direct control over how the service develops and improves moving forward.

“The decision also reflects the best value for money option for the council taxpayer.”

It also hopes that by bringing the service back in-house people will be encouraged to recycle more. The recycling rate in 2024/25 was around 54 per cent in West Devon – the government has set an ambitious target to recycle 65 per cent of municipal waste by 2035.

South Hams District Council, which shares a workforce and leadership with WDBC, broke its ties with FCC in 2022, three years after the two councils signed a partnership deal with the waste management business.

It followed a period of missed household collections and suspended services by the contractor, and complaints from local residents. FCC said at the time that it had had difficulties recruiting staff. The Covid pandemic and challenges with the new kerbside sorting recycling service had also been contributing factors.

A few weeks after the switch the council reported that the number of missed bin collections had reduced by around 75 per cent.

WDBC said missed bin collections had not been an issue in the borough with the exception of one month and that the performance during the contract had been “steady and on target”.

The decision to end outsourcing the service had been made by councillors “solely in the best interest of their residents”, it said, and had not been influenced by South Hams District Council or local government reorganisation (LGR) which will see West Devon no longer operate as a borough council from 2028 but become part of a much larger unitary authority.

But it added: “Delivering the service direct does give the council more flexibility to meet any changes which might result from LGR.

Cllr Jeff Moody, lead member for waste, said: “This is a positive step for West Devon. Bringing the service in-house provides us with the flexibility we need to continue improving waste and recycling collections for our communities.

“We are grateful to FCC Environment for their work in West Devon over the life of the current contract. We will continue to work closely with them ahead of April 2027 to ensure a smooth and seamless handover so that the transition is unnoticeable for residents.”

Staff currently employed by FCC Environment to deliver the current contract in West Devon will transfer to the council under TUPE regulations.

Residents don’t need to do anything and collections will continue as normal throughout the transition period and beyond, said the councillor.