Event invite for firms seeking waste deal

Hull and East Riding Councils are inviting companies interested in taking over their joint waste management contract to Hull Guildhall on Thursday, June 9.

The councils announced in January they would end their current deal with the Spanish-owned firm Waste Recycling Group in March 2013.

The have yet to decide their procurement criteria but expect to know more after the event.

A spokeswoman for East Riding Council said: “The event will also enable the councils to identify potential suppliers and develop general market knowledge. It will also allow potential service providers to gain knowledge of the councils’ requirements.

“There will be presentations from both councils about their joint sustainable waste management strategy, followed by an open question and answer session. Individual meetings will be held with interested companies.

“The joint strategy is based on both councils working together to attain better value for money by sharing waste facilities.”

The authorities have not said whether the new contract would include provision for a waste-burning incinerator, which was a controversial element of its previous deal, although it was not built.

Residents in both local authority areas are currently recycling between 45 and 50 per cent of household waste, and although this could rise it still leaves the problem of what to do with tens of thousands of tonnes of residual waste.

The councils have been sending the excess to landfill sites, but their Government-set allocation is decreasing each year and councils which fail to meet this face fines of £150 per tonne.

A total of 130,300 tonnes was produced in Hull in 2009/10, and 195,759 tonnes in the East Riding.