May Gurney in line for 75m Bridgend waste deal

The service solution we developed for Bridgend focuses on delivering higher recycling rates

 
Philip Fellowes-Prynne, May Gurney

The Norwich-based firm is set to take over from current contractor Biffa in April 2010, in a deal which will also mean it is responsible for managing the South Welsh local authority's four household waste recycling centres.

May Gurney said that it plans to make changes to the council's waste and recycling services, with the aim of helping to increase both the borough's recycling rate and the range of materials residents can recycle, as well as reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill.

Bridgend residents currently receive a weekly residual waste collection – using black bags provided by the council – and a fortnightly collection of source-separated recycling using two boxes – one for paper and the other for glass bottles and jars.

Recyclables are also recovered from residual waste when it is sent to the Materials Recovery and Energy Centre at Crymlyn Burrows near Swansea, where mechanical biological treatment is used to sort metals, as well as producing a refuse-derived fuel.

However, under its proposed changes to the service, May Gurney has said it will look to introduce weekly food waste collections, alongside weekly kerbside-sorted recycling collections, involving what the company's operations director Steve Longdon described as a “full range of recyclables”.

The food and dry recyclables collections would be made using the same vehicle, while residual waste collections will, if the changes are backed by the council, become fortnightly.

Mr Longdon explained that the service would involve May Gurney's 'MaGos' – May Gurney Optimal Solution – kerbside sort approach, which, he said, involved “shifting the focus from refuse to recycling, focusing in on the quality and value of recyclates”.

Partnership

May Gurney's chief executive, Philip Fellowes-Prynne, welcomed the contract award and outlined how the company would work in partnership with Bridgend council to reach its government recycling and waste diversion targets.

“The service solution we developed for Bridgend focuses on delivering higher recycling rates, sending less waste to disposal and includes recycling a far wider range of materials than more traditional approaches,” he said.

The contract is set to run for an initial seven years, with a further seven year extension available.