Facilities management group Vertas has agreed a £2.9m contract to deliver services to five Essex schools built and operated by Skanska.

The deal, which starts on April 1 and runs until December 31, 2021, will see Vertas provide cleaning, grounds maintenance, recycling and waste management, pest prevention, specialist kitchen cleaning and window cleaning services.

The five schools ? Woodlands School in Basildon, Castle View School and Cornelius Vermuyden School on Canvey Island and Columbus School and College in Chelmsford – provide education for a total of 2,240 students.

As part of the new service Vertas will run waste management, segregation and recycling sessions for staff and students to help them reduce their environmental impact, supported by the installation of new waste segregation bins throughout the sites.

Ian Surtees, chief executive at Vertas, said: “Skanska share our priorities of putting staff safety, health and wellbeing first. Skanska is also a company passionate about the environment and sustainability which sits perfectly with Vertas brand values.

“This is the first new contract to include our very recently acquired business Vertas Environmental as a service. Since 2016 the cooking oil from the 400 schools we cater for has been converted to biodiesel. With waste management and recycling now part of the Vertas proposition we will use this biodiesel to power our grounds maintenance equipment such as lawnmowers and hedge trimmers across these five Essex schools.”