InPost, a leading out-of-home and eCommerce delivery company, today announces a new partnership with Salford City Council, as it continues its expansion across the Greater Manchester region.
The partnership will see a rollout of 40 new lockers in publicly accessible locations across Salford, with the aim of installing 65 lockers in the local area by September 2021. The new network of smart lockers will provide the local community with a quick, easy, and more environmentally friendly way to collect and return online shopping and to send parcels, and will be situated in community hotspots within Salford City Council’s property portfolio – with locations including libraries, leisure centres, car parks and community centres.
The lockers will also support Salford City Council’s sustainability target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2038, by helping to reduce carbon emissions locally. Once the new InPost Locker network is fully operational, it will significantly reduce last mile deliveries and have the potential to save 910 tonnes in carbon emissions annually.1 The lockers will be installed at zero cost to the Council, therefore providing a cost effective way to help with hitting its green goals.
Jason Tavaria, CEO at InPost UK, said: “Our partnership with Salford City Council marks another important milestone in our roll-out of lockers across the country, and we are very proud to be working with a leading north west local authority. The lockers will help to support the Council’s sustainability targets by reducing last mile deliveries in and around Salford, as well as make parcel delivery and returns more convenient and accessible for all of the borough’s population.”
Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett said: “We have entered into a new partnership with InPost that will see smart lockers available to the public at council buildings across the city for collections and returns.The council has buildings in the heart of our communities so when people are visiting places such as their local library or leisure centre they can also collect or return their parcels.
“The service will be invaluable to our residents while also helping to reduce journeys and emissions. I would like to say ‘thank you’ to all involved for bringing this important service to this great city.”
The installation of the InPost Lockers will be timed fittingly with final lockdown measures lifting, and help reinstate these locations as local community hubs in Salford. And as InPost’s lockers enable 24/7 contact-free online shopping collections and returns, as well as an easy way to send parcels, they will provide more accessible options for key and shift workers in the borough.The new InPost Lockers are set to be installed by July 2021, and will be available for use from August 2021.
All lockers will undergo frequent maintenance and cleaning, which includes cleaning the touch screen, the compartment doors and the sides of the lockers with an antiviral spray to ensure safe usage of the lockers at all times.
1 One parcel locker reduces emissions by up to 52 kg of CO2 per day, which amounts to 14 tonnes of carbon dioxide less in a year. = 14 tonnes x 65 Salford lockers = 910 tonnes. Note that only business working days were taken into account for the annual savings stated.