Waste management firm Viridor will continue to process Pooles refuse and recyclables until 2027, following the successful extension of its contract with the borough council.
Under the renewed deal, the council will continue to send its dry recyclables to Viridors Crayford MRF, while up to 30,000 tonnes of residual waste currently destined for landfill will now be sent to partner New Earth Solutions mechanical and biological treatment plant in Canford on an annual basis.
Poole is already contracted to send some of its residual waste to Viridors Lakeside energy-from-waste facility in Colnbrook until 2027, as part of a 200 million integrated deal signed in 2006.
Meanwhile, green waste will continue to be managed by Viridor and sent for processing at Eco Composting Ltd in Parley, Christchurch.
The extension comes a decade after Viridor signed a 10 million deal to initiate the borough’s first dry recyclable and green waste collections in 2004, collecting paper, card, cans, plastics and glass under a commingled blue bin scheme.
At present, Poole council operates an in-house weekly collection service for refuse and a fortnightly collection for recycling and garden waste. It continues to maintain blue bin commingled collections.
Lakeside
In 2006, Poole agreed to send some of its non-recyclable waste to the then newly built Lakeside EfW plant in order cut the amount of biodegradable waste to landfill under the governments Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme.
The deal also contained provisions for a 35,000 tonnes-per-year materials recycling facility (MRF) to be built in the borough.
However, in 2009 plans for the 8.6 million Hatch Road plant were scrapped after the firm claimed gate fees would be 10% higher than previously forecast which was not economically viable at the time (see letsrecycle.com story).
Xena Dion, cabinet portfolio holder for the environment, Borough of Poole said: ‘Viridor have been really responsive to our drive to increase our recycling rates and understand how important it is for local residents to see ‘waste’/materials processed locally and to make use of them rather than sending them to landfill.
‘Delighted’
Also commenting on the deal, Colin Richardson, Viridors regional manager, said: We are delighted that the Borough of Poole has extended our contract, which is testimony to the service that we have delivered for the past 10 years.
Richard Brooke, commercial director of New Earth Solutions added: We look forward to working closely with Viridor and their client at the Borough of Poole to make our part in this project a success.
In 2012/13, Poole borough council achieved a combined recycling, composting and reuse rate of 40%.
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