Cardiff city council has revealed the eight groups bidding for a 15-year contract to treat the citys organic waste.
The council launched the procurement process for the contract in December 2011, and was open to bids from contractors offering a range of different technologies, including anaerobic digestion (AD), in-vessel compost (IVC) or open windrow to treat the citys food and green waste.
- Agrivert Ltd & Atlantic Recycling Ltd;
- Cory Environmental Ltd;
- Kelda Water Services Ltd (in partnership with Dwr Cymru, and Biogen UK Ltd);
- New Earth Solutions Group Ltd;
- Shanks Waste Management LtdTEG Environmental Ltd (in partnership with UTS Biogas);
- Wessex Water Enterprises Ltd (trading as Geneco);
- Waste Recycling Group Ltd.
The council has had an interim organic waste treatment contract in place with New Earth Solutions to treat organic waste at the companys IVC plant in Sharpness, Gloucestershire since 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story). The deal was originally agreed for one year, with the option to extend every three months until 2014.
Interim contract
Under the terms of the interim deal the company was contracted to treat 30,000 tonnes of mixed food and green waste per year, although this has increased over the life of the contract, with New Earth Solutions treating 43,000 tonnes of waste in 2010/11.
The council has yet to decide on the tonnage of waste that will be treated under the permanent contract and has said that this will be reviewed at every stage of the procurement process.
The companies bidding for the contract are yet to put forward detailed proposals, so potential sites for treatment facilities are not yet known, but the council does own a 50,000 tonne per year IVC plant on the outskirts of the city which is open for consideration in any potential proposals put forward by bidders.
Proposals
The companies have until summer 2013 to submit detailed plans of their proposals, with a preferred bidder to be named by autumn 2013. The city council anticipates that the contract will then be awarded to the successful bidder by early 2014, with the facilities becoming operational by early 2016.
The city council have set a number of criteria which any proposed developments need to meet, including the visual impact of the facility, the effect it will have on traffic and its proximity to residential property.
Chief officer for Cardiff council city services, Tara King, said: This is an important landmark in progressing an organic waste treatment solution for Cardiff. The companies long-listed all have proven organic waste treatment credentials, including anaerobic digestion applications amongst other technologies.
It is a high class field ranging from independent organic waste technology companies to recycling and water companies all of whom will be in a position to provide Cardiff with innovative and cost effective solutions. The council has made great strides in recent years towards becoming a truly sustainable city and this plant is a key infrastructure development for delivering our waste strategy.
The Welsh government launched its waste strategy Towards Zero Waste in June 2010, with the aim of making Wales a high recycling nation by 2025. Organic waste treatment is seen as a key part of each local authoritys waste strategy to achieve this aim.
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Cardiff had successfully moved to introduce weekly recycling and food waste collections in September 2011, which, the council says, has seen recycling rates go up considerably.
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