Collection contracts are being awarded separately by Gateshead and South Tyneside to Premier which will collect paper, cans and glass fortnightly across the area. A total of 150,000 residents will benefit from the scheme – 85,000 in Gateshead, and around 65,000 in South Tyneside. The other contractors that submitted final bids for the contract were SITA, ECT and Cheshire Recycling.
The two councils first put the contract out to tender in early 2001 alongside the three other Tyne and Wear authorities – Newcastle, North Tyneside and Sunderland. At the time, one option was selecting a preferred contractor for all five council areas which would see each having a contract with the successful firm. Across the Tyne and Wear area, 430,000 households will be eligible for kerbside collections when the schemes go ahead.
The absence of extra government funding in some areas and variations in the speed of decision making effectively ruled out the single contractor option and not all authorities were in agreement with the idea. Decision-making for some councils has also been delayed because funding allocations are still not decided. While Gateshead won 600,000 and South Tyneside 450,000 towards the scheme from the first round of the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund in June, the other councils were not successful. They are waiting for the results of the second round, expected to be announced in December 2002.
Sunderland
Jim Alprovich of Sunderland City Council said: “We would expect to be a position before the end of the year to make some kind of announcement about a kerbside contract.” He added that the council had not envisaged that all the councils would award their contracts to the same company: “It wasn't all five councils together and it was never intended to be. Our decision will be in line with what's happened elsewhere in Tyne and Wear, but our particular process is just rumbling a bit more slowly.”
Newcastle
SITA has emerged as favourite for the Newcastle contract although an official announcement is still awaited. A spokesman for Newcastle City Council confirmed it was working “in unison” with North Tyneside to award contracts. “We have decided who to award the contract to, but I cannot say who,” he said. “Gateshead and South Tyneside are doing a separate contract with a different company.” He said that the new contractor would start “as soon as possible”.
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