Midland said that the partnership means that “glass deposited in bottle banks is likely to be re-used within the city area, as both glass manufacturers and aggregate users are close by.”
Leeds City Council, says Midland, is guaranteed an end user for colour separated glass and mixed glass. The city will have the glass taken away for free but within the contract there is flexibility to allow for payment to the city should prices rise in line with contract terms.
Ian Hunter, waste management agency manager, for Leeds City Council said he was convinced the agreement would of benefit to both partners.
Mr Hunter told letsrecycle.com that the emphasis in the agreement was very much on partnership. “We approached this contract in a different way. It was important for us to have an agreement so that we could develop glass collection over time.”
Challenge
Mr Hunter acknowledged that agreeing such contracts can challenge the normal tendering procedures used by local authorities. However, he pointed out that expressions of interest were called for and several companies were interviewed and the contract award had fully satisfied the council's legal department.
The contract is designed to see Midland collecting from 300 bank sites. Other recycling facilities will also be upgraded and several of these will see 1100 litre bins installed to collect plastics and cans as well. Midland will also collect the plastic bottles.
On some sites where the banks are slow to fill, single containers will be installed for mix collection freeing up the other banks to be used elsewhere. Work will also get underway in the city centre to see if collections from pubs, clubs and offices can be increased. Mixed glass is likely to go for aggregate use.
Kerbside collection of mixed glass will be trialled although the cost of this compared to promoting bring sites will be analysed closely.
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