The arrangement, which will last for four years with an option to extend until 2023, includes the collection, onward transport and treatment of paper, card, cardboard, mixed plastics, cans and glass.
Viridor will primarily process household municipal recyclables, though it will also include some commercial waste, at its Crayford materials recycling facility (MRF) in south east London.
The contract was previously held Community Waste with the recyclables sent to its Enstone MRF in Oxford. However, Viridor assumed control of the contract following its estimated £15 million acquisition of the Milton Keynes based-company in 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Derek Edwards, regional managing director for Viridor, said: “We’re delighted to renew our partnership with Oxford city council for the processing of recyclable materials. The contract is good news for Oxford, its residents and environment.
“Not only will the deal boost city recycling, transform waste and give resources new life, but it also drives 16,000 tonnes of resources per annum through our state-of-the-art Crayford materials recycling facility.”
Biffa
Under the arrangement, Biffa Municipal has been chosen to run the authority’s waste transfer facility – where the recyclables will be bulked before being sent on to Viridor for the lifetime of the contract.
Biffa already operates a transfer station at its Oxfordshire base in Culham where it receives waste under its collection contract with South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse borough councils.
Commenting on the decision, a spokesman for Biffa Municipal said: “This is great news. We are delighted that we are further extending our strong relationship with the authorities in Oxfordshire.”
Recycling in Oxford continues to increase following the roll out of a number of initiatives by the city council over the past year.
Flats
In November 2014, the council launched the second phase of a £900,000 project to boost food waste recycling in flats – with a view to increase its overall rate by 2% by March 2017 (see letsrecycle.com story).
And last month, the council launched a recycling incentive scheme branded the ‘Blue Bin Recycling League’ (see letsrecycle.com story).
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