Suez currently collects South Gloucestershire’s waste under a 25-year PFI contract which ends in July 2025. The deal sees 155,000 households receive fortnightly residual and green waste collections and weekly food and dry recycling collections.
In a tender notice yesterday (17 October), the council begun the search for who will takeover this contract, for an initial period of eight years with an option to extend up to a further period of eight years, in two four year increments.
The notice valued the deal at “circa £15m per annum, plus VAT”, meaning the deal is worth £240 million (plus VAT) over the entire potential length of the contract.
It will cover the collection of up to 100,000 tonnes per annum of municipal and other wastes within the council’s administrative area, including refuse (household), recycling, food, and garden waste.
Credits
South Gloucestershire receives £3.1m in PFI credits via the contract, but says Defra has “verbally confirmed” this will cease in July 2025.
The council confirmed last year that it could cut the frequency with which it collects residents’ residual waste to every three or even four weeks from 2025 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Representing an estimated population of more than 280,000, South Gloucestershire council had a household waste recycling rate of 58.5% in the 2020/21 financial year.
Alongside Cheltenham borough council, South Gloucestershire was one of the first local authorities to agree to trial kerbside collections of flexible plastic packaging under the Flexible Plastic Fund FlexCollect project (see letsrecycle.com story).
Refuse crews in the area were awarded a 10% pay rise after the threat of industrial action earlier this year, the Unite Union said.
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