Veolia Environmental Services has beaten SITA UK and Biffa to a 2.4 million waste and recycling collection contract with Wyre borough council in Lancashire.
Veolia will take over from Fylde borough council, also in Lancashire, which is currently contracted by Wyre to deliver collection services. The eight year deal commences on April 1 2012 with the option to extend it for a further eight years.
In June 2010 Wyre decided not to extend the seven year contract, previously hailed as an exemplar of partnership working, with Fylde stating that there were greater efficiency savings to be made with other service providers. The contract with Veolia is expected to save the council in excess of 850,000.
It will cover 49,000 domestic properties in the borough and will maintain the current system of fortnightly kerbside collections with all waste being collected on the same day. Residents are provided with a green wheeled bin for garden and food waste, a blue wheeled bin for paper and cardboard and a green box for other dry recyclables such tins, plastic and glass. They are also provided with a grey wheeled bin for residual waste.
New fleet
Veolia is investing 2 million in a new fleet of dual stream collection vehicles which will be fuelled by biodiesel. The company hopes this will assist the council in making major carbon reduction savings.
Chief operating officer at Veolia, Tom Spaul, said: The new green fleet will help provide a more efficient service across the whole borough and improve both landfill diversion and carbon performance.
Veolia will also introduce a customer liaison and recycling officer to support Wyres 110,000 residents in maximising recycling in the borough which currently recycles 44% of its waste.
Contract
Five companies, out of 12 who originally expressed interest in the contract, progressed to the invitation to tender stage. Focsa and May Gurney withdrew their submissions, indicating that they were also bidding for other tenders, leaving Biffa, SITA and Veolia in the running for the contract.
The contract award criteria was based on the most economically advantageous tender 60% on price and 40% on quality.
Councillor Peter Murphy, cabinet member responsible for waste, said: Our selection process was based on both cost and quality and it was this total package that won Veolia the contract. Delivering the best possible service and true value for money to our residents is a key priority for the council. This new partnership will help us achieve exactly that.
Subscribe for free