Three councils will spend £152 million on a new bin collection contract promising "improved services". But they will also need to buy their own fleet of lorries.

Ashford, Maidstone and Swale councils, which work together as the Mid Kent Waste Partnership, have awarded the eight-year contract to Suez Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd.

It will cost £19m a year and will start in March 2024.

It comes as bin workers in Ashford could be set to strike amid a dispute over pay.

The GMB union has warned that it is set to ballot members with warnings that the situation could last for weeks.

The union, which represents refuse and recycling workers across the country, claims that waste company Biffa, which holds the current contract, is refusing to enter negotiations over a pay rise "to bring workers in line with colleagues in neighbouring boroughs".

Under the new contract, fortnightly collections of waste and recycling will continue across the three boroughs, with one wheeled bin for dry recycling, alongside the regular weekly food waste collections.

The councils say greener vehicles with the highest Euro VI emissions standards will be used along with better technology to keep residents up to date.

The new vehicles are being funded directly by the councils to help save costs and will be more modern vehicles that use electric bin lifts, reducing the consumption of diesel dramatically to help lower the service's carbon footprint.

The fleet will also include more smaller and electric vehicles leading to a 16-tonne reduction in carbon emissions during the course of the contract.

Ashford and Swale, which covers Sittingbourne, Sheppey and Faversham, will also have their street cleansing service delivered by Suez, while Maidstone’s will remain in-house.

It is hoped it will lead to improved cleaning in rural and residential areas as well as quicker response times to remove fly-tipping.

Cllr Julian Saunders (Lab), who chairs Swale’s environment committee said: “Council officers have worked effectively with their colleagues in Ashford and Maidstone over the last couple of years to get this new contract in place.

“We’ve listened to residents' views throughout the process which is why we wanted to keep dry recycling collections in one bin and improve street cleansing.

“Working in a partnership to deliver what is our biggest contract, gives us a number of operational advantages and Suez provided a strong bid, showing enthusiasm to deliver the service and bringing their considerable industry experience to Mid Kent.

“The proposal has a number of strengths – maintaining the most valued elements of the current service, making other service improvements, reducing our carbon emissions and promoting recycling”.

The current service will continue to be delivered by the Mid Kent Waste Partnership with Biffa Municipal Ltd until the start of the new contract.

Staff will be transferred to the new contractor.

A Swale council spokesman added: "The partnership wishes to express its thanks to Biffa for the last 10 years of service delivery."

Cllr Matthew Forest (Con), cabinet member for the environment at Ashford Borough Council, said: “We’re pleased to continue working with Maidstone and Swale, and look forward to working with our new contractor Suez.

“We’ve been on quite a journey in terms of recycling in Ashford, with residents embracing the new arrangements and us becoming one of the best recycling councils in the country.

"This new contract will mean a better, cleaner, greener service on the way for residents.

“The new contract arrangements will have many benefits including: using existing contract staff, the same type of collection system, a more efficient collection schedule, clearer waste stream separation, improved textile and WEEE collections and a more environmentally friendly vehicle fleet.”

Cllr Martin Round (Con), Maidstone Borough Council's lead cabinet member for environmental services, said: “MBC is pleased to continue to work with Ashford and Swale to deliver what is our biggest contract. Suez provided a strong bid, showing enthusiasm to deliver the service bringing their considerable industry experience to Mid Kent.

“The new vehicles are being funded directly by each council and will help save costs.

"They will be modern and use electric bin lifts which will reduce the consumption of diesel dramatically, helping lower the services’ carbon footprint.

“The new contract will also offer the chance to increase recycling rates across the three boroughs, improved efficiency of the collection routes, lower emissions vehicles and better technology to keep our residents up to date.”

The bill for Maidstone's fleet is £5.8m. Swale councillors agreed to buy vehicles at an extraordinary meeting of the council at Sittingbourne on January 4 but the cost was not revealed.