This includes glass collections, which the council had planned to stop after the introduction of the deposit return scheme (DRS).
In December 2022, the authority announced plans to halt its black box collections, which sees residents put out glass, small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and household batteries every fortnight (see letsrecycle.com story).
At the time, the council said this service would no longer be required from September 2023 as glass bottles are included within the scope of the DRS. The council said this would help avoid a net loss of £234,000 due to the loss of revenue generated via the sale of glass, cans and plastic.
When the DRS was further delayed, the council in May 2023 extended its contract up until March 2024, but has not disclosed the cost. A decision on the future of black box recycling collections remain under review.
Notice
The recycling collections contract with FCC became effective from May 2015 and was originally due to expire in May 2022.
The £2 million cost of amending the contract to September 2024 was highlighted in a tender notice published on 8 August.
In the notice, the contract value has been altered from £7.95 million to to £9.91 million to reflect the additional 16 months between May 2022 and September 2024.
The notice states that the possible introduction of the DRS was “unforeseen and directly impacts on this service as the kerbside box collection service includes collection of glass / bottles from residents”. It added that a new exercise could not be undertaken due to “uncertainty within the market of the impact of the DRS”.
A council spokesperson told letsrecycle.com: “The current agreement which collects glass, food and AHP is under review. We are now in the process of looking at all options which will be subject to council approval”.
Representing an estimated population of more than 160,000, Falkirk council has a recycling rate of approximately 52%. It awarded Levenseat a ten-year contract to recycle or turn into energy all waste from bulky uplifts that previously ended up in landfill earlier this year (see letsrecycle.com story).
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