A report will go before the council’s cabinet on Monday, 8 February. This says that the contract — currently held by Veolia — will start in October 2021 and deliver savings of £2 million per annum. The authority, which has its town hall in Brixton, south London and has a population of 335,000, will also have the option to extend the award for a further eight years depending on contract performance.
Including the potential eight year extension, the deal could be worth £227m over 14 years. Lambeth says it will also have the option to terminate the contract or have an earlier break clause.
Cllr Claire Holland, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for environment, said: “I want to thank Veolia for their hard work and commitment to helping make Lambeth a better, cleaner borough over the years. I know they will continue to work with the council positively as the transition takes place.
“The winning bidder responded positively and in depth to some of our residents’ key aspirations in delivering on a circular economy in Lambeth. Through the new contract, we will be joining waste services on estates together with the main service to provide a high quality and consistent service across the borough. This is something that tenants and leaseholders have asked for – and the council has listened”.
Tender
Veolia’s contract with Lambeth was initially due to end in April 2021, but was extended by six months because the tender was delayed due to the pandemic.
A total five responses were made to the initial questionnaire for the tender, with two bidders invited to submit proposals.
The Serco offer received a score of 99.4%, while ‘bidder B’ received 91.8%, as outlined below.
Contract
As part of the contract with Serco, a new fleet purchased by the authority compliant with the London Ultra Low Emission Zone with electric bin lifts will be rolled out.
There will also be one electric refuse collection vehicle being purchased now with the rest phased in as part of the fleet replacement programme, so there will be a completely electric fleet by 2030.
Also, the council says there will be increased re-use – with more reusable items, particularly furniture, will be captured from the bulky waste stream.
There will also be an expansion of the food waste collections on estates, with an additional 3000 homes to receive food waste collection services at no additional cost.
‘Experienced’
The council said it made the decision to move to Serco as it is “experienced” in providing waste collection and recycling services, and is an “established company in the sector delivering services in other London boroughs” such as Hammersmith, Fulham, and Richmond-Upon-Thames.
Under the new contract, Serco will provide recycling, waste collection and street cleansing services, as well as the disposal of food and garden waste with increased bin capacity for recycling..
Lambeth said Serco must also “support the council” in meeting the 50% recycling target by 2030 for London councils set by the London Mayor in 2018. The council recorded a recycling rate of 30.1% in 2018/19.
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