Sandwell council faces big decision over PFI

Sandwell metropolitan borough council has launched a consultation with stakeholders over whether it should pursue its demanding Waste Improvement Plan – which sets out plans for managing the council's 200,000 tonne of waste a year – as a waste PFI project or “go it alone” through a public private partnership.

The council submitted an Expression of Interest for PFI funding to Defra in March, which could see it eligible for up to 50% of the capital costs of building a proposed mechanical biological treatment plant, and possible transfer station and in-vessel composting facility.

However, there are concerns that the Private Finance Initiative process could restrict and delay and the development of new facilities by a year, putting landfill diversion targets at risk.

If the contract is procured through PFI, facilities are not expected to be available in 2013 – cutting it fine to meet landfill diversion targets in the same year. But the council predicts that the facilities would come on line in Spring 2012 without PFI.

Last year, the council said it was not considering the PFI route, because the project was not big enough (see letsrecycle.com story).

Yet it was obliged to reconsider after the Gateway Review 2 in December 2007 recommended that the council looked at seeking PFI as an alternative source of finance, after PFI benefited from a £2 billion provision in the Comprehensive Spending Review.

A final decision will be taken at a meeting of the council's cabinet on June 11 this year.

Jan Britton, head of highways and environment at Sandwell, said: “We are heading towards a big decision between PPP and PFI for the future of waste and cleansing service. The business Case is finely balanced – and the different routes have different advantages and risks.

“However, by the time we get to the Cabinet, our elected member will have enough information to make a genuinely informed decision about these options,” he added.

WIP

Sandwell council has been working on its Waste Improvement Plan since it was agreed in June 2007.

The aim of the Plan is to modernise the borough's waste and cleansing services in order to meet 2020 targets for recycling and landfill diversion by the year 2015.

As part of this drive, the council is launch a pilot expanded kerbside recycling service for plastic and cardboard this July.

Costing £295,000, the scheme comes in the wake of a MORI survey which showed that almost 90% of residents wanted the council to increase recycling and composting.

At the moment, 87% of homes in Sandwell get kerbside collections of paper, cans and in most areas glass. The service is provided by Sandwell's in-house recycling service and local community group CRV.

Under the pilot, household in the Great Barr and Bearwood districts will been given new 240 litre wheeled bins replacing green bags or boxes, for their dry recyclables. The materials will be collected every two weeks alongside weekly rubbish collections.

Mr Britton said: “The trial will initially benefit about 15,000 households and long term will be used to develop borough-wide improvement for collecting recyclables.”