And, the local authority has now requested assurances from the company that the waste is being managed responsibly.
The request and halting of waste deliveries comes as an investigation by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs continues into suspected landfill tax fraud in north east England.
Niramax holds a contract to treat 170,000 tonnes of waste on behalf of the county council a year, as part of a £9.3 million contract that began in April 2015.
The 12-month arrangement, due to expire on March 31 2016, is delivered as part of a procurement framework covering the treatment and disposal of municipal waste across England’s largest county.
The framework is an interim arrangement between North Yorkshire and nine waste firms while work continues on the long-delayed 320,000 tonnes capacity Allerton Park incinerator (see letsrecycle.com story).
The nine companies selected as part of the framework are:
- Associated Waste Management
- Bidco – Impetus
- FCC Waste Services
- Green North East Trading
- Neales Waste Management Ltd
- Niramax Group
- SITA UK
- Stonegrave Aggregates Ltd
- F D Todd & Sons
- Transwaste Recycling & Aggregates Ltd.
Of the nine waste companies that can bid for the county’s waste disposal, only FCC Waste Services, FD Todd & Sons and Niramax Group are currently contracted to deliver the service.
Waste sent to Niramax is, according to the council, delivered to the waste firm’s site on the Longhill Industrial Estate on Thomlinson Road, Hartlepool.
Agency
On September 23, 180 HRMC officers supported by the Environment Agency and local police teams raided residential and commercial premises across Yorkshire and the North East as part of a suspected £78 million landfill tax fraud investigation. A total of 14 arrests were made (see letsrecycle.com story).
The council has now confirmed the closure of Niramax’s site in Hartlepool on the day of the raids. Police officers were stationed outside the site on the day of the investigation.
The council has also confirmed that all deliveries to Niramax were suspended following the closure.
[testimonial id = “283” align=”right”]
Framework
A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire county council said: “No companies have been dropped from the framework. Of the nine companies appointed to the framework, contracts were awarded to three companies following further competition: FCC waste Services; Niramax Group and FD Todd & Sons. These contracts commenced on 1 April 2015.
“Deliveries of waste to Niramax have been suspended following the closure of their site at Hartlepool on 23 September as part of an investigation by HRMC. The county council has written to the company seeking further reassurances and will only recommence deliveries when it is fully satisfied that waste from the County is being managed responsibly at all stages from receipt to final disposal.”
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, Niramax Group declined to comment.
Update 16:15 (05/10/15): North Yorkshire county council has confirmed that municipal waste usually sent to Niramax is being diverted to Yorwaste’s landfill site in Harewood Whin, York, while discussions continue.
The council added that the majority of residual waste sent to Niramax is derived from households, as well as some HWRC sourced waste and commercial waste collected by district councils. Under the contract, the waste is converted into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) at the Hartlepool plant for use in the UK, with “less than 10%” sent to landfill.
Subscribe for free