ELWA’s existing PFI integrated waste management contract with Renewi was signed in 2002. It was valued at £500 million at the time but its cost has risen since. An ELWA budget meeting in November 2022 put the annual levy at around £72 million in 2022/23, which included a £6 million hit due to rises in inflation.
The prior information notice, published yesterday (5 September), explained that the preparation stage for the new contract has been split into two phases. The first was working with industry to develop an outline business case, launched in January this year (see letsrecycle.com story).
Yesterday’s notice marks the launch of the second phase, which is the preparation for procurement. It explains: “Preparation for procurement, to implement the preferred option of the business case, can now commence and therefore ELWA is inviting market operators to participate in this new stage of preliminary market engagement.”
‘Disaggregated’
The notice explained the first stage of the process concluded that the proposed approach to procuring the services to replace its existing will be a “disaggregated service delivery model”, with new contracts for the following waste services to be procured:
• Residual Waste Disposal (including Bulky Waste and Street Cleansing)
• Waste Reception, Haulage and Reuse and Recycling Centres
• Treatment of Garden Waste
• Reprocessing of Dry Recycling
• Treatment of Food Waste
As a result of the disaggregation of the current contract, ELWA said: “It is necessary that the procurement of the new contracts is staggered. ELWA also intends to stagger this stage of preliminary market engagement.”
ELWA is responsible for the disposal of the waste collected by the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham and Redbridge.
Market
The majority of East London’s waste is currently exported through the refuse derived fuel markets.
Competition for the tonnage will be intense, as there are a number of existing and proposed energy recovery facilities in the area.
ELWA’s close proximity to Essex, which sends the majority of its waste to landfill, has also led to a string of firms eyeing the contract. Prospective plants could include Indaver’s facility currently under construction in Braintree, Essex; Viridor’s 350,000 tonne per year capacity EfW plant in Tilbury Docks, East London; and Cory’s second facility in Belvedere, south east London (see letsrecycle.com story).
There are also several local suppliers who could bid for any lots which arise.
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