The contract, valued at £8 million over three years, is described as a “concession for acceptance and recycling of paper and card”. It marks another success for Newport Recycling which has worked for the borough for around 10 years on similar work. Last year the contract was put out to tender again following a number of extensions and in a competition with two other bidders, Newport Recycling secured the work.
Haulage and treatment
Under the requirements of the contract, the company will manage the haulage and treatment of kerbside collected paper and card as well as the Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) collected paper and card. The borough generates about 11,000 tonnes of waste paper and card per annum.
Richmond upon Thames requires that the recycling facility must operate “in accordance with applicable legislation and have the capacity to accept all of the council’s paper/card waste daily/weekly as requested”.
And, the provider is tasked with ensuring that the highest level of recycling is achieved, with waste sorted into marketable products that meet the standards of the paper and card recycling industry.
The paper, which is collected separately at the kerbside, is understood to go to the Stora Enso Langerbrugge paper mill in Belgium. The mill produces newsprint and newspapers and magazines are sorted from the Richmond material with the remainder being used in the region for production of cardboard.
Langerbrugge has a unique feature among paper mills in that it has three large wind turbines generating power for the plant and for onward use.
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