South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils have awarded a new Waste Collection and Street Cleansing contract to Biffa Waste Services.

The new contract extends its 15-year success and starts next month (June). It could run for a maximum period of 16 years, costing almost £260m.

There is a minimum period of eight years and a break possible after four years to give maximum flexibility. 

While they will continue to focus on an all-in-one bin approach for recycling with the decision kept under review, they are also preparing for law changes with the national ‘Simpler Recycling’ scheme that comes into effect by March 2027, allowing residents to recycle soft plastics.

READ MORE: Petition to save free parking in Oxfordshire towns

Vale of White Horse District Council said this country-wide approach will reduce confusion.

It said: “With a single set of core materials collected kerbside, it will lead to clearer labelling for the public on packaging and greater volumes of the correct items being picked up and sorted for re-processing by the councils.”

But with no immediate changes, residents in Abingdon, Farringdon, Wantage, Dicot, Henley, Thame and Wallingford, can expect the same services until then.

Just short of half of Biffa’s fleet is either new and already in service or arriving as new vehicles within the next six months.

The remaining replacement process, pending councillor approvals, should be concluded by March 2028. 

JOSEPH GABRIEL LAGONSIN

News Editor

Dojo has warned that fraudsters are using AI-generated receipts to secure refunds from retailers, with online searches for such tools rising sharply.

Data cited by the payments company showed global Google searches for “AI-generated receipts” rose by 2753% over the past year. It also referenced findings from Cifas showing that AI-manipulated documents now account for more than 20% of falsified evidence used in UK refund and chargeback disputes, where total fraud cases exceeded 444,000 last year.

The issue centres on fake proof-of-purchase documents created with generative AI tools. These can mimic real receipts with retailer logos, item lists, timestamps and transaction numbers, making them hard for frontline staff to distinguish from genuine records during refund checks.

According to the figures cited, about one in 10 UK returns is already estimated to be fraudulent. AI-generated imagery is adding pressure to return, refund and replacement processes, particularly where staff rely on uploaded documents rather than direct checks against payment records.

A Dojo spokesperson said AI receipt generators are making it easier for fraudsters to create convincing fake proof of purchase.

“With just a few clicks, they can produce receipts that mirror real store formats, complete with logos, item lists, timestamps and transaction IDs. As many return systems rely on documentation rather than transaction-level checks, these AI-generated receipts often go unnoticed, allowing fraudulent refunds to slip through even well-established defences.”

Risk areas

Several sectors appear more exposed than others. Dojo identified eCommerce and digital-only retail, fast-food and quick-service restaurants, consumer technology, ride-share and on-demand travel, food-delivery platforms, luxury goods, telecoms and financial services as industries where interest in receipt generators suggests higher fraud risk.

The assessment was based on Google search patterns for brand-specific receipt generator terms. Separate Experian data for 2025, cited by Dojo, indicated that 62% of digital-only retailers, 48% of retail banks and 44% of telecom providers reported AI-related fraud attempts.

Those sectors share several features that can make them targets for document fraud. High transaction volumes, automated customer service systems and digital templates that are relatively easy to imitate can create openings for false refund, return or reimbursement claims.

Checks advised

To limit exposure, Dojo urged businesses to verify submitted receipts against actual transaction records. Checks on timestamps, payment amounts and transaction IDs remain the most reliable way to identify fabricated documents.

It also recommended adding QR codes, barcodes or other unique markers to receipts so staff can trace a claim back to a live record in the merchant’s system. For higher-risk categories such as expensive electronics, digital-only purchases and goods commonly resold online, retailers should apply stricter refund rules and require further verification before approving a claim.

Another step is staff training. Frontline workers can be taught to spot repeated textures, irregular spacing, mismatched metadata, incorrect store formats and impossible timestamps, all of which may indicate that a receipt or supporting image has been artificially generated or altered.

Behavioural monitoring is also part of the advice. Repeated refund requests from the same device or location, multiple claims in a short period, or unusual patterns in customer activity can help investigators identify serial abuse even when the documents appear plausible.

Dojo also advised businesses to consider AI-based fraud detection systems that examine images and documents for signs of manipulation, including synthetic text, altered pixels and inconsistencies that may not be visible to staff reviewing claims manually.

The warning reflects a broader shift in fraud methods as generative AI tools become easier to access. For merchants, the challenge is no longer limited to spotting obvious forgeries, but to checking whether documents submitted in routine customer service interactions match real transaction data held in their own systems.

JOSEPH GABRIEL LAGONSIN

News Editor

Atos has launched Digital Workplace as a Service for mid-size companies, targeting businesses with 5,000 to 15,000 employees.

The offer is aimed at organisations that have often fallen between large outsourcing contracts and smaller managed services arrangements, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics and retail, where many staff are not office-based.

Digital Workplace as a Service is structured as a modular subscription service. Customers begin with a discovery phase to identify workforce requirements, select relevant service components and generate a pre-calculated price.

The service includes AI-led automation from the outset, including chatbots built on a general knowledge base that can cover about 85% of common frequently asked questions before customer-specific information is added during a 90-day onboarding phase.

Atos expects the service to shift more employee support interactions away from voice channels. It estimates that 60% of tickets could be resolved through automation by the third year, with live chat handling the remaining interactions, while fully optimised environments could reach 80% to 85% automation.

The service is priced at a level comparable with internal IT support. A value-sharing model would reduce the cost per user as automation expands and demand for support falls.

Mid-market focus

The launch reflects a push to address a segment that major IT service providers have often served unevenly. Mid-sized businesses have typically faced a choice between basic support services and more complex outsourcing models designed for much larger organisations.

For companies with frontline, shift-based or distributed workforces, workplace technology support can differ sharply from the needs of office-led businesses. Retailers, manufacturers and logistics groups often need support models that account for shared devices, variable working patterns and staff with limited access to conventional desktop-based systems.

Atos said its service uses persona-driven analytics as part of its design, with the aim of shaping support around different workforce profiles rather than treating all employees the same.

Automation plans

Atos positioned automation as a core part of the operating model rather than an add-on introduced later. In practice, clients are expected to begin with standard chatbot support and then extend automation as internal knowledge is integrated during onboarding.

The service is intended to prevent some issues before tickets are raised and to handle submitted requests more efficiently. Atos said this approach can improve employee productivity and user experience while lowering support costs over time.

Lewis Herbert, Head of Digital Workplace, Smart Platforms and Technology Services at Atos UK&I, outlined the rationale for the launch.

“Digital Workplace as a Service fills the gap that mid-size companies face when having to choose between basic IT support and complex, costly solutions designed for large enterprises. It’s designed to be fast, flexible and outcome-focused from day one, helping mid-size companies thrive in today’s AI-powered digital era by proactively enhancing employee productivity and experience,” Herbert said.

Atos operates in 54 countries and employs about 56,000 people. The group reported annual revenue of about €7.2 billion at its go-forward perimeter.