The council says that the that terminating the contract, which also includes street cleansing, property design and grounds maintenance, will save it ‘in the region of’ £100,000 per year – which it is claimed will be largely due to ‘increased income generation’ from recycling.
A decision has yet to be taken over whether the contract will be brought in house, but the council has said that it will consider “alternative ways of providing these services, likely to be a joint venture partnership with another organisation.”
Councillors approved the early end of the contract at a meeting last Wednesday (8 March), with the measure among a number of budget proposals agreed to reduce spending by the local authority.
‘Uncertainty’
According to documents published ahead of the meeting, the council claimed: “The main driver for this is uncertainty over whether the council’s contract with Amey is meeting its needs and compatible with the tough financial landscape we are now operating in.
“Any new arrangement will allow the council more control over how services are provided and ensure that a percentage of any income generated is returned to the council to provide services for residents.”
The contract with Amey will continue until a new service provider has been put in place, although it is expected that the contract could come to an end some-time in the 2017/18 financial year.
City councillors awarded Peterborough’s waste and recycling collections to Enterprise in January 2011, absorbing staff from the council’s then in-house collection service (see letsrecycle.com story).
In 2013, the contract transferred to Amey following the Spanish-owned waste firm’s acquisition of Enterprise for £385 million (see letsrecycle.com story).
System
Throughout the term of the contract, Peterborough has continued to operate a four-bin system, with commingled plastics, cans, paper and glass placed in a green bin, refuse in a black bin, green waste in brown bin and food waste in a kitchen caddy.
Recyclables, refuse and green waste are collected on an alternating fortnightly basis, while food waste is collected weekly. In 2015/16, the council achieved an overall recycling rate of 44%.
In a statement, the company said: “We have successfully delivered a range of environmental services in Peterborough over the last five years but local authority markets have changed significantly during this period, in turn meaning affordability against the original contract objectives have changed.
“We are committed to supporting the council and our Peterborough-based teams over the coming months as they make the necessary changes to their delivery model. At this time, no timescales have been agreed for the end of the contract and Amey is focused on delivering the highest quality service in the interim and there are no changes at this time to the services residents receive.”
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