The contract will run for an initial five years, with the option to extend by a further five.
The contract award notice was published today, 13 March, but formally began in January. Waste will be sent to Suez’s Great Blakenham facility in Suffolk.
Under the contract, Suez will manage all the residual and bulky waste collected from over 78,000 households in Southend-on-Sea and from two council operated Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs). The new contract also includes any residual waste collected through street and beach cleansing or from fly-tipping, for a combined total of 44,300 tonnes per year.
Much of Southend’s waste was previously sent to landfill following the closure of the Tovi Eco Park. The council says the deal represents a “big cost saving”.
The contract provides a big cost saving
- Cllr Paul Collins, Southend council
‘Cost of living’
Cllr Paul Collins, cabinet member for asset management and inward investment, said: “Energy from waste is a much more environmental and efficient alternative to landfill, which produces energy for the national grid, and the on-site recycling facility uses the leftover ash to make secondary aggregate products for road building and construction.
“Along with this, the new contract provides a big cost saving too, which is vital as we grapple with our own financial challenge and support our communities with the cost-of-living crisis.
“Council officers will now work closely with Suez over the next few months to ensure a smooth transition. This change in the end destination of our waste will not affect residents’ collections, and residents should put out their pink recycling sacks, paper and cardboard box, food waste bin and black sacks on their usual collection day.”
Collections
Collections in Southend are currently carried out by Veolia, under an eight year contract first signed in 2015 and was due to expire in October.
The council is in the process of tendering for a new deal. An £800,000 extension was signed which will now see the deal run to April 2024, giving the council more time.
Network
Amanda Padfield, director of public sector development for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK said: “We look forward to partnering with Southend-on-Sea city council over the next five years, using our regional network to help divert more waste away from landfill in the East-of-England.
“By sending the residual waste to the Suffolk Energy from Waste facility, this new contract will also bring further efficiencies for the plant and for our other local authority partner in the region, Suffolk county council.”
Suffolk
The Suffolk facility was built to process waste from homes and businesses in Suffolk and the surrounding areas with an initial capacity of 269,000 tonnes per year, but “efficiency improvements” have allowed the plant to process up to 295,000 tonnes per year.
Suez explained that accepting residual waste from Southend-on-Sea will make best use of the plant’s capacity whilst “supporting another East of England local authority, putting more waste to good use by generating electricity for the national grid”.
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