Worcester, Wychavon and Malvern Hills councils have unanimously agreed to procure the collection service by 2017 in a bid to jointly save around £1.5 million a year.
At present, Wychavon already outsources its waste and recycling collections to Spanish-owned firm FCC Environment, while Worcester city council and Malvern Hills district council carry out rounds in-house.
However, a report submitted to the three councils by consultant Globe Environmental Ltd earlier this year suggested that outsourcing a joint contract could collectively save up to £1.5 million. The report adds that each authority could continue to operate different collection methods by negotiating a deal.
The proposal was green-lit by Worcester and Malvern Hills in July, with Wychavon the last council to approve the plan last week at a meeting of the executive board.
But the plan came under fire from a local resident who pointed out that Wychavon’s refuse collection service is more expensive than Worcester, despite being provided by a private firm. He added that in 2013/14, the FCC-run service cost £56.10 per household compared to Worcester city council’s in-house rate of £44.24.
Food
Addressing the point, councillor Emma Stokes, cabinet member for environment and street scene, said that in 2013/14 Wychavon’s service included a food waste collection scheme not provided by Worcester city council. She added that due to the rural nature of the borough, greater resources are required to collect waste.
Asked why Wychavon had not itself considered setting up or joining a wholly-owned company to carry out collections, Cllr Stokes said: “Wychavon has never taken the view that local authorities could not or should not provide our waste, recycling and street cleaning services.
“Indeed the last time the contract was tendered we fully considered a joint bid submitted by Worcester city council, Malvern Hills district council and Redditch borough council. It was dismissed because the price did not provide value for money.”
She added: “As Wychavon does not directly employ a waste, recycling and street cleaning workforce or own the vehicles it would not be particularly appropriate to be part of a company.”
Wychavon has recently experienced a contamination spike in its recycling, with incidences of food waste placed in green bins. The council removed its separate food waste collection service in January 2014, which was costing around £550,000 a year to maintain (see letsrecycle.com story).
Bids
Companies are now expected to be invited to bid for the jointly procured collection service with a preferred bidder announced in late 2016. The successful bidder will take charge of collections across the boroughs from September 2017 following the expiry of Wychavon’s FCC contract.
Around 40 staff working for Malvern Hills district council would be transferred across to the new provider.
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