The two-year deal, which began in October, will see J&B processing 17,000 tonnes-a-year of separately collected glass and commingled recycling. This is collected by the council’s in-house team.
Hartlepool-based J&B, which describes itself as the North East’s biggest independent waste management firm, said the contract was already bringing benefits to North Tyneside, with an increase in the amount of material being recovered.
The contract, which has the possibility of an extension, also sees J&B working with North Tyneside council to look at expanding the range of materials that can be recycled such as pots, tubs and trays.
Vikki Jackson-Smith, managing director at J&B Recycling, said: “This is a key milestone for J&B and continues our expansion in the north of the region.”
The company secured a £7.5 million investment in 2014 and has since spent £2.5 million on the improvement of its existing plant.
Ms Jackson-Smith continued: “We’re looking forward to working with North Tyneside council in terms of best practice, looking at improvements to the service and being proactive on waste awareness.”
Facilities
After visiting J&B’s processing facilities and experiencing the level of automation and materials produced, J&B said that North Tyneside council was impressed with the operation.
Minutes from a meeting of North Tyneside council’s cabinet confirmed: “Following a procurement exercise, on 1 October 2019 the Authority commenced a new 2-year contract with J & B Recycling Ltd to reprocess recyclable material collected in the grey bin. The contract has started well and is already bringing benefits with an increase in the amount of material being recovered.”
Colin MacDonald, senior manager of technical and regulatory services at North Tyneside council, said: “We have been impressed by the extent of the technology J&B deploys at its MRF with the early signs being that we are now being able to extract even better value from our materials than before.
“We were able to make the transition to the new contract with ease. Our experiences of early relationship-building has been positive – there is a real commitment to developing a partnership approach which is meeting the promises made during the contract tender stage.”
Investment
In order to service part of the contract, J&B said it has also invested £104,000k to increase its fleet of vehicles and walking floor trailers.
J&B specialises in the receipt, haulage and processing of co-mingled recyclables from a number of local authorities already including Sunderland city council, Scottish Borders council and Craven council. Founded in 1998, the company now employs over 198 people.
Last month J&B announced the purchase of a fourth site at Monument Park on the Pattinson industrial estate, Washington, partly to service a contract with Sunderland city council and to help with “the expansion of recycling collections from other kerbside contracts and nearby businesses in Tyne and Wear”.
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