Services company Kier is expected to be named as the successful bidder for a ten-year waste and recycling collection contract in Sussex, after the deal is scrutinised by councillors.
The deal is being procured by a partnership of four councils – Wealden, Eastbourne, Rother and Hastings – and should it be formally approved, will be rolled out from April 2013.
The overall value of the contract has not yet been revealed, but it is thought that the successful completion of the deal would be a major boost to Kier Groups recently appointed managing director of environmental services Nicola Peake, who took on the role in February (see letsrecycle.com story).
The contract, which includes waste collections, recycling and street cleansing, is expected to save the four councils a total of 29 million over its lifetime. It is also hoped that as a result of changes brought in under the contract, recycling rates across the region will increase to more than 50%.
Costs
The councils established a Joint Waste Committee in summer 2011, with the aim of joining together waste collections across the four boroughs in order to improve the quality of the service as well as reducing costs.
After interest from 26 companies, three tenderers understood by letsrecycle.com to be Kier, Biffa and SITA UK were invited to submit final bids for the deal in August 2012, although the SITA bid is believed to have been withdrawn shortly afterwards.
In September, the Joint Waste Committee put forward a recommendation for its preferred bidder, which according to a source close to the deal is Kier.
The recommendation was approved by each of the four councils earlier this month but councillors at Wealden council have called the deal in for scrutiny before it can be finalised.
A meeting is scheduled to take place on Friday (October 19) where councillors will examine the procurement process and the financial terms of the deal, and it is expected that a decision will then be taken on whether the deal can proceed.
Should the deal be approved, an official announcement on the successful bidder is expected to be made early next week.
Procurement
Councillor Rowena Moore, cabinet member for waste management at Wealden council, said: “We have followed a careful system of procurement throughout. The initial interest we received from 26 organisations has been narrowed down to three companies in the last stage of the procurement process.
These have been assessed both for quality of service provision and value for money. The contract recommended by the Joint Waste Committee will increase Wealden’s recycling rates to over 50% and increases the range of materials picked up at the kerbside to include glass and a wider range of plastics, as well as the garden waste, cans, paper and cardboard.
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A spokeswoman for Kier said: We havent had anything confirmed by the councils and at the moment cannot comment further.
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