The partnership, which is made up of Essex county council and the unitary Southend-on-Sea borough council and has responsibility for disposing of 12 district councils' waste, secured £100.9 million in PFI funding from Defra in October 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).
We need to increase the amount of waste we are recycling and I am confident that by working with the industry experts we can benefit both the environment and tax-payers' pockets
Cllr Tracey Chapman, Essex county council
The money was awarded based on a reference project involving mechanical biological treatment, and using a site on Courtuald Road in Basildon where, the council stressed in its outline business case, incineration was not allowed as part of the planning permission.
However, the council has said that the final choice of both the site and technology will be made during the procurement process, which will be fought out between:
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Biffa;
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Shanks Group;
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A joint bid by Skanska Infrastructure Development, a construction company, and Cory Environmental;
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United Utilities;
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Urbaser SA, the Spanish-owned waste management company;
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Veolia ES Aurora;
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VT Group, a defence and engineering firm.
Commenting on the shortlist, councillor Tracey Chapman, cabinet member for environment and waste at Essex county council: “We are delighted at the quality of the companies that have been shortlisted and have confidence that the successful bidder will be able to deliver a sustainable solution to dealing with waste generated in Essex and Southend.”
“We need to increase the amount of waste we are recycling and I am confident that by working with the industry experts we can benefit both the environment and tax-payers' pockets,” she added.
As well as diverting waste from landfill with the new facilities, the partnership has said it also aims to achieve a 60% recycling rate by 2020.
The announcement of the Essex shortlist comes just days after plans were approved by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham, for a waste facility at Rivenhall, near Braintree, which would use technology including MBT to treat more than 500,000 tonnes-a-year of both household and commercial waste (see letsrecycle.com story).
While it has not been revealed whether this proposal could be tied in with one of the shortlisted bids, there are similarities in the technologies cited in the planning proposal for Rivenhall and Essex's outline business case.
And, the planning approval made by Mr Denham referenced the fact that the Rivenhall development would “help to satisfy a substantial and demonstrable need for municipal solid waste and/or commercial and industrial waste to be dealt with in Essex”.
Procurement
The next stage for Essex Waste Management Partnership's procurement process will involve the shortlisted bidders being asked to submit outline proposals by mid-May showing how best they intend to deal with the county's residual waste.
The partnership then aims to announce a preferred bidder in October 2011, and to have any new facilities up and running by late 2014.
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