Officially announced yesterday (February 1), the seven-year deal, which is worth £37 million-a-year, is intended to help the London borough boost its 23% recycling rate and save £800,000 per year on the current contract for this service, which is also held by Veolia.
Councillor Danny Chalkley, cabinet member for city management at the council, said: “We have managed to negotiate a great deal for the council tax payer by maintaining the same high standards of service people rightly expect of Westminster, with just as many bin collections and street cleaning services as before, but at a substantial discount of £800,000 a year.”
The council advertised the contract in accordance with European Procurement Regulations on February 6 2009, explaining that an “immediate priority” under the new contract would be to expand commercial recycling services in the London borough.
The new contract, which has the option to be extended to a full 14 years, is set to take effect from September 15 2010, when the current deal expires. The contract is currently in the 10-day ‘Alcatel' period, during which unsuccessful bidders are able to challenge the decision.
Veolia
Veolia was chosen ahead of bids from London-based waste management firm Cory Environmental, Spanish-owned waste firm Focsa and waste management and services firm Enterprise.
Jean-Dominique Mallet, chief executive of Veolia, said: “We are delighted to be preferred bidder for this very prestigious contract, one we are very proud to be in partnership with. We believe our vast experience and unrivalled expertise in meeting the round the clock challenges of this 24/7 city, which attracts millions of people and hosts all manner of special events has been a major factor in the decision by Westminster city council to propose to continue our successful partnership.”
Under the existing contract, Veolia provides waste and recycling collections for the 250,000 residents in the central London borough and takes dry recyclable material to be sorted at a materials recycling facility in Rainham, Essex.
Retention of the contract also bolsters Veolia's standing in central London where it also holds a £665 million waste PFI contract with Southwark council and runs waste and recycling collection services in the London borough of Brent.
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