Suez and Aberdeen sign £28m contract extension

The agreement was first brought to light last year (see letsrecycle.com story) but has now been formally approved and signed by the council.

It covers the operation of Aberdeen’s household waste recycling centres and the council-owned materials recycling facility and waste transfer station. It also covers the management of the authority’s recyclable wastes.

The extension will see the 25-year contract, first signed in 2000, run through until 2029. This will give the council the time it needs to procure a new long-term deal due to “legislative uncertainty”.

Steve Patterson, SUEZ regional director north, said: “We’re pleased to be continuing our long-standing relationship with Aberdeen city council to support them with their waste needs. Our local authority clients in Scotland are entering a significant period of transition to help deliver more recycling services in the coming years, and this extension allows Suez to support Aberdeen as the city assesses the impact of legislative changes by continuing to operate the transfer stations, recycling centres and other related facilities.

“It also builds on our previous 23 years of collaboration and commitment by both operational teams who work tirelessly to provide essential services to Aberdeen residents.”

Notice

The extension of the contract was confirmed in a tender notice published last week (26 April).

In the notice, Aberdeen explained that going to the market to re-tender the contract next year could “pose a significant risk”, as contractors could be reluctant to bid due to risks around legislation.

This includes, the council said, policy initiatives including the deposit return scheme and extended producer responsibility, recently published Incineration Review which suggests there could be a future need for pre-treatment of waste prior to incineration and the biodegradable waste landfill ban in 2025.

The tender notice explains that new policy will “have a significant impact” on waste composition and volume collected and sent for processing,  together with as yet unknown effects on particular waste streams such as bulky waste.

The notice added: “Following the implementation of any new requirements (e.g. collection service changes, changes to material composition, etc) it will generally take at least 12-24 months to be able to gain a good understanding of the impacts on the waste streams. It is estimated that the re-procurement of a contract to replace the existing waste management contract will take around 2-2.5 years to complete, from initial scoping through to contract award.”

An Aberdeen city council spokeswoman said: “We are pleased to be continuing the successful partnership with SUEZ as we work towards further improving waste and recycling services across the city.”