Published on 31 December and worth an estimated £27.5 million, the contract lasts for three years, with the option to extend it for up to three further years.
Suez was the previous holder of the contract, which covers the receipt, onward transfer and thermal treatment of around 45,000 tonnes of kerbside collected residual waste per year. The company says the waste is used to generate electricity across its energy from waste (EfW) portfolio.
The council says the new contract is particularly short because it is in discussions with Lancashire county council about a county-backed contract to treat 300,000 tonnes of residual waste. Lancashire county council held an “early engagement” day with a focus on the proposed contract for interested waste management companies in February last year (see letsrecycle.com story). While the engagement day focused on a contract for Lancashire there is still the potential for Blackburn with Darwen borough council to join with the county in future.
A spokesperson for the Blackburn with Darwen borough council waste team told letsrecycle.com: “Blackburn with Darwen continue to discuss with Lancashire county council a joint procurement, hence the short contract period of our new waste disposal contract with Suez.”
Suez
Ed Best, regional manager at Suez recycling and recovery UK, said: “Suez was delighted to secure the residual waste contract with Blackburn with Darwen Council last May. Despite all the challenges of 2020, we are proud that the Suez team were able to quickly and smoothly mobilise the new contract and continue to deliver the service from June.”
“We very much look forward to continuing the partnership and increasing the council’s recycling and diversion from landfill rates”
He added: “Suez has a long history of working closely with Blackburn with Darwen council, having managed their residual waste and household waste recycling centres for a number of years.
“We were also delighted to have secured Blackburn with Darwen council’s contract for the treatment and processing of recyclables from domestic and non-domestic premises that commenced on 1 May 2020 for a period of three years, with the option to extend for a further three years.
“We very much look forward to continuing the partnership and increasing the council’s recycling and diversion from landfill rates over the coming years.”
EfW
Suez had plans for an EfW plant near Blackburn approved by Blackburn with Darwen borough council in August 2019 (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, construction of the plant is dependent on the waste management company securing a contract to continue managing Lancashire’s residual waste.
If built, the facility on Lower Eccleshill Road in Darwen would process up to 500,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste and generate electricity for more than 60,000 homes.
Blackburn with Darwen
Representing a population of nearly 150,000, Blackburn with Darwen borough council had a recycling rate of 28.5% in the 2018/19 financial year, which represents the latest data.
Just before Christmas, the council announced that contamination rates within the Blackburn with Darwen area had fallen from 35% to around 12% since the summer roll out of new blue bins.
Introduced in June, the bins are used for clean cardboard and paper. They are collected alternately every fortnight with grey bins for glass, cans, and plastic containers.
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