Residents in and around Christchurch, East Dorset, North Dorset, and Purbeck have their refuse and recycling collections, plus street cleansing, run by the DWP. The household recycling centres, treatment and disposal of waste and waste reduction promotions across the county are also managed by the partnership.

By working together, we can provide high quality services more efficiently and cost-effectively, saving around £1.4m in 2011/12 for Dorset. The DWP is looking to make initial savings through:

• Waste minimisation

• Joint buying

• Increasing trade waste in some areas 

• Sharing depots and vehicles 

• Cross boundary collections, e.g. residents living in East Dorset may sometimes have their waste collected by another district council's vehicle

At present, no changes have been made to current waste services. However, in January 2012 all of the partner councils in the DWP agreed to introduce a standardised, county-wide recycling and refuse collection service.

You can read more about the new service and how it will affect you at our Dorset collection service page.

A Joint Committee comprising of two councillors from each authority oversees the delivery of waste and cleansing services by the DWP.

Due to the merger of officer structures and preparations of the 2012 Olympic sailing events, West Dorset District Council and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council will not transfer their services and staff to the DWP until 2013. And as such, their councillors will not vote on DWP decisions about service delivery or share in the savings of the partnership until they fully join. Councillors will, however, be involved in all discussions.

Dorset is one of the first county partnerships to deliver an in-house waste collection and cleansing service and is attracting national interest from other local authorities. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has also recognised the partnership's potential and has so far awarded more than £400,000 towards the set up of the DWP, demonstrating national confidence in its success.

• Name: Dorset Waste Partnership
  Email: enquiries@dorsetwastepartnership.gov.uk
  Tel: 01305 225002
  Fax: 01305 224961
  Full details for Dorset Waste Partnership