Sandwell set to sign 650m waste deal next week

Sandwell metropolitan borough council has today (November 3) revealed that it expects to sign its £650 million integrated waste and recycling contract with a consortium led by services company Serco next week.

And, the West Midlands local authority, which appointed the consortium as preferred bidder for the 25-year deal in August 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story), said that it expected the contract itself would then begin on November 15.

“The final stages of contract negotiation between Sandwell council and Serco are progressing, we are a couple of weeks behind our original schedule, but only because some of the details have taken longer than we expected, there have not been any fundamental problems,” he said.

“We are on track to sign the contract next week with contract commencement planned for the week commencing Monday 15th November,” he added.

Bid

Serco's bid, which was chosen ahead of a tender by Biffa, also involves organics specialists Jack Moody, materials recycling facility (MRF) operator Pure Recycling and the operators of the Coventry incinerator, the Coventry & Solihull Waste Disposal Company.

Together the companies are set to run Sandwell's household waste and recycling and street cleansing services, as well as developing a waste transfer station at the proposed Pikehelve ‘Eco Park', in West Bromwich, which the council received outline planning permission for in February 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Mr Britton said that, given the discussions Sandwell and Serco had been involved in so far, he was confident the contract would deliver, explaining that: “We are looking forward to working with Serco – and the constructive dialogue we have had over the past few weeks is a good start for the future.”

Under the contract, the council aims to recycle 60% of its waste by 2020, turn 35% of it into energy and send less than 5% of it to landfill.

The deal is being procured without PFI funding, after Sandwell decided in May 2008 to ‘go it alone' with regards financing the project (see letsrecycle.com story), before beginning the procurement process in August 2008.