Veolia renews Brent collection contract

Waste management firm Veolia Environmental Services has renewed its contract to carry out waste and recycling collections on behalf of the London borough of Brent.

The nine-year public realm deal, which has an option to extend for seven years, is worth around 142.3 million and also includes services such as grounds maintenance, burials, winter gritting and street cleansing. Veolia has been responsible for carrying out waste collections in the borough since 1992.

Brent council believes that the new deal will offer it savings of around 1.3 million per year when it begins in April 2014, rising to 1.7 million per year from 2017/18. Its current waste services contract costs around 17.2 million per year.

Estelle Brachlianoff, director UK and Northern Europe for Veolia, said: We have been in Brent for over twenty years, the first London borough contract we won and one of the first in the UK altogether.

The special demands of Brent and its residents are complex and unique which made the winning of this contract particularly pleasing as we look to further develop the service on this valuable and prestigious contract.

A report into the contract compiled by the council states that 7 million around 30% of its current waste budget is currently spent on the disposal of residual waste.

Targets

The contractor will have targets to divert more of the councils waste away from landfill. Brent believes that under the new contract it could potentially save around 105 per tonne for every tonne of waste recovered and rather than disposed of through landfill.

If the target is not met, the contractor will bear the additional costs from the waste disposal authority.

Veolia will also provide the council with an income from the recyclable material received through collections. Brent will receive a guaranteed income of 1.14 million for recyclable materials for the first three years of the deal, plus 60% of any additional income for the material received above this level.

Commenting on the deal, Brent council leader councillor Muhammed Butt, said: This contract will deliver value for money for Brents council tax payers as well as cleaner and greener public spaces and a lower carbon footprint for the borough. Most importantly it will help ensure Brent remains a place which residents can take pride in. I look forward to working with the company on delivering this new contract.

The contractor helped Brent move from a weekly to an alternate weekly collection system for dry recycling and waste in 2011. Veolia has also submitted plans to introduce a weekly collection of recycling at flats and shops, and to extend food recycling services into areas not served.