North Somerset landfills Boomeco waste

North Somerset waste intended for processing into refuse derived fuel is currently being landfilled by the council after contractor Boomeco lost permission to store baled RDF at its site on Avonmouth docks last week.

Gloucestershire-based Boomeco was told by the Environment Agency last week that it can no longer store RDF at its docks on St Andrews Road after complaints from nearby residents about a persistent fly infestation (see letsrecycle.com story).

As a result, North Somerset council has been forced to suspend input of waste to the site while it seeks a contingency arrangement in discussion with Boomeco and the Agency.

The flies have prompted anger from local politicians including Bristol North MP Charlotte Leslie, and the RDF export situation has also prompted comment from waste management firm Viridor headquartered in nearby Somerset.

Traditionally a waste wood processing company, Boomeco was earlier this year awarded the contract to process 10,000 tonnes of North Somersets residual waste into RDF each year at a cost of 87.61 per tonne (see letsrecycle.com story).

Other West of England Partnership councils Bath and North East Somerset and Bristol city also have the option to use the contract in future, which would add another 40,000 tonnes per year of waste to the deal.

Procurement

Procurement took the form of an online auction that lasted for two hours and saw 115 bids places from four initial, pre-qualified tenders.

The council, which had not previously used the e-auction process, said this procurement resulted in a price reduction of just over 12 per tonne from the lowest overall bid at the start of the auction to Boomecos final winning bid.

Now, with Boomeco currently unable to process and export RDF at Avonmouth, the council has denied that it failed to carry out enough technical due diligence in awarding the contract, adding that it is confident the terms of the contract will be fulfilled by the firm.

A council spokesman said: At the moment we have suspended our input into their site and it will go to landfill instead. Before awarding the contract we carried out due diligence this is a small scale contract at the moment and we are confident Boomeco have the expertise and equipment to fulfil the terms of the contract we have with them.

To resolve the situation we are in discussions with Boomeco and the Environment Agency to arrive at a contingency arrangement.

However, chair of the council waste working group, Lib Dem councillor Deborah Yamanaka, told letsrecycle.com she was not aware that RDF-contracted waste was currently being sent to landfill, but that she would seek to raise the issue at a council meeting as soon as possible.

She said: I am a bit concerned that the council hasnt been told about this as this seems like quite a major issue. I hope they sort it out as quickly as possible that due diligence was carried out when awarding the contract.

Viridor

Commenting on the North Somerset action by the Agency, Viridor highlighted what it considered as the growing concern over the regulation of RDF processing in the UK.

A spokesman said: It is good to see yet another example of poor practice in RDF export being tackled at last. We congratulate the Agency for this positive action to protect local health and the environment.

Commenting on RDF exports more generally, he added: Concern is being expressed by insurers, fire authorities and local communities. It has been described by some as being increasingly out of control. The UK must take responsibility for its own residual waste and utilise it to deliver UK jobs and energy security. We welcome this individual action and the recent Defra Call for evidence, but urge government and the regulators to do more to address an issue of growing concern.

Charlotte Leslie MP

Bristol North MP for the Conservative Party, Charlotte Leslie, said she had persuaded the mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, to release emergency funds to clear the plague of flies which has afflicted Avonmouth.

She said: This situation has been an absolute disgrace and it was imperative that action not reports or talk was taken right away.

The MP added: “If it happened in Clifton it would have been sorted long ago. I am sick of meetings, more meetings and endless reports. I want to see this sorted. Now. It is disgusting and absurd if the so called ‘Green Capital’ of Europe cannot protect its citizens from a basic health hazard like a plague of flies.

When contacted by letsreycle.com, Boomeco managing director Oliver Latter could not be reached for comment.