Re-Gen Waste wins £5.6m deal with Scottish Borders

Worth £5.6 million, the deal runs for an initial three years, with the option of four one-year extensions.

The council estimates the contract will cover 10,000 tonnes dry mixed recyclables each year.

Ross Sharp-Dent, waste and passenger transport manager for Scottish Borders council, said: “Following the expiry of our previous contract for the transport and processing of dry mixed recycling, a procurement exercise was undertaken by the council with the available contract put out to tender.

“The successful company, Re-Gen, a Northern Ireland-based recycling and waste management specialist, is a market leader in the processing of and recovery of recyclable materials and currently works for a number of other Scottish local authorities.”

Mr Shap-Dent said the contract would see Re-gen provide the same service as the previous contractor, J&B Recycling, and process all the same materials for recycling.

Re-Gen Waste was the sole company to submit a tender for the contract.

High performing

Joseph Doherty, managing director of Re-Gen Waste, said: “Re-Gen Waste is delighted to win our first contract with Scottish Borders Council for the collection and processing of its recycling material.

“Scottish Borders is already the highest performing rural local authority in terms of recycling in Scotland.

“We are looking forward to help build upon this success through our industry leading processing capability and advances in technologies which will maximise the recyclables we can extract from the 10,000 tonnes of material we will be caring for every year.”

Winning the contract with Scottish Borders council continues a recent period of success for the waste management company, after it won a short-term deal with council-run CWM Environmental in Wales last month (see letsrecycle.com story).

Mr Doherty added: “This contract win is another step towards meeting our ambitious growth plans and our mission to support local authorities across the UK to increase their recycling performance.”

Scottish Borders

Representing an estimated population of just more than 115,000, the rural Scottish Borders council had a recycling rate of 49% in 2019, Mr Sharp-Dent said.

He added that this was an increase of 10% on the previous year and that it coincided with a reduction in the area’s carbon emissions of 11,000 tonnes CO₂e between 2018 and 2019.

Scottish Borders council collects dry mixed recyclables at the kerbside from all households in the Scottish Borders fortnightly, as well as community recycling centres and traders.

The council previously had an arrangement with J&B Recycling contract for the uplift, treatment, and disposal of its commingled mixed recyclate since 2005.