Waste management firm FCC Environment has been awarded a contract to manage 14 household waste and recycling centres on behalf of Staffordshire county council, the firm announced today (September 25).
The contract began on August 19 and could last for 15 years in total, with options to renew after seven and 11 years.
The previous contract for the 14 HWRCs was operated by infrastructure firm Enterprise Plc, a subsidiary of UK-based Amey, which was bought by Spanish company Ferrovial earlier this year.
The council aims to save 240,000 a year as part of the arrangement with FCC, which will see an expansion in the range of materials recycled to include carpets, mattresses and hard plastics.
Furthermore, 13 of the sites will open for half an hour longer until 5pm, while Bilbrook, Cannock, Leek and Stafford HWRCs will open for seven days per week.
FCC Environment, which is the UK arm of Spanish parent company FCC, said it had already spent 5 million on updating and upgrading the HWRCs and would be introducing reuse shops at which members of the public could donate unwanted goods to be sold on for charity.
New waste compacting equipment introduced to the sites is to be provided by Staffordshire company JCB.
Staffordshire county councils cabinet support member for environment, Gill Heath, said: It is good to see the improved facilities at our household waste recycling centres now up and running. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to recycle used items and our new contract with FCC is making that happen.”
‘These improved facilities which include longer opening hours, new services for small businesses and more people on hand to help at each centre will mean a better all-round experience for centre visitors’
Staffordshire county councillor Gill Heath
Savings
Under the new contract, the council said the sites would facilitate improved handling of larger waste items and more efficient disposal of fly-tipped waste collected by district and borough councils.
Councillor Heath added: These improved facilities which include longer opening hours, new services for small businesses and more people on hand to help at each centre will mean a better all-round experience for centre visitors. In addition, we will be achieving annual savings of 240,000 resulting in an efficient and best value for money service.
The 14 HWRCs are located in Biddulph, Bilbrook, Burntwood, Burton, Cannock, Cheadle, Leek, Lichfield Newcastle-under-Lyme, Rugeley, Stafford, Stone, Uttoxeter and Wombourne.
Head of group development at FCC Environment, Steve Longdon, said: We are extremely happy with the new relationship we have with Staffordshire county council, and were looking forward to working with members of the public to seek more sustainable ways of managing their waste.
FCC Environment is the leading operator of household waste recycling centres in the UK. We know that our experience and expertise will help to significantly improve re-use and recycling rates in Staffordshire in a cost effective way.
The Staffordshire deal follows FCCs contract gain made this year in Buckinghamshire to develop a 300,000 tonnes per year capacity energy-from-waste plant at Greatmoor in the county (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, the firm last week (September 13) had plans to expand and extend operations at its materials recycling facility (MRF) at Sutton Courtenay rejected by Oxfordshire county council (see letsrecycle.com story).
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