Four Firms Share 200m Waste & Recycling Contracts in Yorkshire

Waste management contracts worth £200 million over 10 years have been awarded jointly by East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Hull City Council to four companies. According to the councils the contracts are for recycling of waste materials that the two councils collect from their 263,000 households, and the recovery of energy from waste which cannot be recycled. The contracts also cover the management of the 13 household waste and recycling sites provided by the councils. For the past 15 years one company has held the waste contract, which ends in March 2015 when the new contracts start. However, the councils noted that over the 15 years the previous contract has run, the emphasis has changed from simply collecting all of the waste, to recycling and composting to keep waste out of landfill, reducing the millions of pounds the councils pay in landfill tax. When the new contracts start, residents are not expected to see any changes to the way their waste is collected by the councils. However, according to the councils the new contracts will provide value for money for council taxpayers and more flexible disposal services for the recyclable materials. The councils added that by increasing the amount collected from the recycling and composting bins, the recycling rates for both councils continue to rise. Currently the annual recycling rate is around 57% in the East Riding and 52% in Hull. In recent years both councils said that they have delivered many additional services, such as the collection of garden waste and food waste, and the recycling of ever wider ranges of materials. Councillor Symon Fraser, portfolio holder for environment, housing and planning at East Riding of Yorkshire Council commented: “Recycling, reducing waste and cutting down on what is sent to landfill is close to the hearts of residents in the East Riding. “These new contracts have been shaped to take account of how we are all changing the way we look at waste. It is no longer rubbish to be thrown away but is something that should be recycled and given a new lease of life. Councillor Martin Mancey, portfolio holder for energy city at Hull City Council, said that the contracts will also allow the councils to develop a local solution for composting organic waste and improve recycling and diversion from landfill. A summary of the proposed facilities and the companies involved is outlined below: FCC Environment: FCC Environment will continue to manage the network of 13 household waste recycling sites and centres across the two council areas. They will also manage three strategic waste transfer stations at Wilmington, central Hull, Goole and Carnaby. FCC Environment will also be responsible for the treatment of residual waste collected in East Riding which will be turned into a refuse derived fuel (RDF) and used to recover energy at a Multifuel Power Station currently under construction at Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire. Impetus Waste Management: Under the new contract, residual waste collected in Hull will no longer be disposed of to landfill but will be turned into a refuse derived fuel (RDF) and used to recover energy at a new advanced gasification facility at Billingham, Teesside which will be the first of its kind in the UK. Advanced Gasification is a process by which waste materials are heated to very high temperatures and converted to gas to generate energy, and inert materials that can then be recycled as aggregates. J&B Recycling Ltd and Biowise Ltd: A consortium between the two companies will develop a new composting facility in the Willerby area for both councils’ organic waste. J&B Recycling will also use their existing materials recycling facility to sort Hull’s blue bin materials in Hartlepool. Biffa Waste Services Ltd: Biffa will use an existing materials recycling facility in Walsall to sort the blue bin material collected in the East Riding before it is recycled into new products. Read More Judicial Review Granted for Viridor’s 26 MW Beddington Waste to Energy Plant in London Campaigners battling to stop Viridor's 26 MW waste to energy facility in South London have been granted permission by a High Court Judge to take the case to judicial review. New Tool to Help Councils Implement Collections for ‘High Quality Recycling’ The Resource Association has launched a new information project to provide a reference point for understanding reprocessors’ recyclate quality requirements. EA Minded to Permit 220,000 TPA SITA Solid Recovered Fuel Plant in Rugby, UK The UK’s Environment Agency has published its draft decision which said that it is minded to grant a permit for SITA's 220,000 tonne per year Solid Recovered Fuel facility in Rugby.