The West Midlands' local authority has issued a notice for the contract, which also includes street cleansing services, in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
The council is willing to consider the provision of facilities with a greater capacity than that required for this contract to allow the acceptance of third party wastes
Jan Britton, Sandwell council
And, it will be looking to create a shortlist of between three and six waste management companies for the award, which represents the second part of the council's two-pronged approach to delivering its Waste Improvement Plan.
Last month Sandwell secured an agreement that will allow it to send up to 60,000 tonnes a year of its residual waste to Staffordshire county council's planned Energy-from-Waste project (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, the council's head of highways and environment, Jan Britton, explained that the separate waste collection and treatment contract would complete Sandwell's waste management masterplan.
“The residual waste disposal capacity we have secured at Staffordshire amounts to approximately 35% of Sandwell's municipal waste arisings so we still have a pressing need to increase our recycling/composting rate,” he said.
“All the rest of our waste/recycling collection and treatment requirements – and street cleansing – will therefore be contained in our own OJEU procurement process which, with the capacity at Staffordshire, will deliver all the requirements of our integrated waste improvement plan,” he added.
Sandwell had considered following the PFI route as a solution to its waste management question, but decided against this option after holding a consultation on the subject in May 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Instead, the OJEU notice states that it will now look to establish a public-private partnership with either a single contractor, or a “clearly-headed” consortium.
Mr Britton explained that “this is likely to be a 20-30 year contract as it will include capital investment in new recycling and composting facilities”.
The OJEU notice also confirms that Sandwell is looking to acquire industrial land at Pikehelve, in West Bromwich, for an 'Eco-Park', which would offer recycling, composting, treatment, transfer and depot facilities.
And, it explains that: “The council is willing to consider the provision of facilities with a greater capacity than that required for this contract to allow the acceptance of third party wastes where this is beneficial to the council.
“This may include working with the council to provide services to other local authorities in the West Midlands,” it added.
Previously, Sandwell council had highlighted food waste treatment as one area for which capacity currently needed to be boosted in the West Midlands.
Interim
With the Staffordshire EfW facility not expected to come on-line until between 2013 and 2015, the notice explains that this could lead to the “successful contractor providing some interim treatment and disposal capacity in the period from commencement of this contract until the Staffordshire Energy-from-Waste Facility is available.
“The council may also be interested in the contractor providing treatment or disposal capacity for residual tonnages in excess of the capacity available for the council in the Staffordshire Energy-from-Waste Facility,” it added.
At the same time, Sandwell is also considering whether to procure interim waste disposal options to cover the period until its newly advertised contract kicks in.
The next stage of the £1 billion contract's procurement process will be a bidders' open day, which the council plans to hold on September 25 2008.
The deadline for full tenders or requests to participate is October 10, with September 2010 earmarked as the potential start date for the contract.
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