Biffa has announced that it has secured a three-year contract extension to receive and process dry mixed recyclables for Edinburgh city council.
The extension work, which started in December 2020, is for an initial period of three years with options to extend for up to two further periods of 12 months each, at a total estimated net cost of £7.87 million. Biffa had already held the contract for four years.
The city council used Scotland Excel’s Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for the procurement, which Edinburgh described as “expedient and cost effective”.
Edinburgh: the contract includes work to support the reduction of contamination of recycling with flats in Edinburgh posing a particular challenge
Biffa said today (4 February) that the award would “see Biffa using its knowledge and expertise in recycling to support the City of Edinburgh achieve its target of a 78% recycling rate. The most crucial way it plans to do this is to help Edinburgh to reduce contamination in kerbside recycling bins throughout the city”.
Contamination
A statement from the waste management company explained that while the dry recycling bins should contain waste plastic bottles and containers, cans and glass, they can “sometimes become contaminated with other waste, which affects the recyclability of the whole load”.
Biffa will be responsible for sorting and selling dry recyclables
Initiatives are planned to help address contamination and support the council to achieve its recycling and zero waste ambitions. Biffa said it will also use its “extensive experience” to identify opportunities across the city for more effective and efficient recycling.
‘Valued customers’
Gavin Money, Biffa’s regional general manager for Scotland & N. Ireland, said: “Working with valued customers, like the City of Edinburgh, to help them achieve their sustainability goals is fundamental to our business at Biffa. It’s our goal to change the way people think about waste and we can do this by helping them to understand how they can recycle more. We’re very much looking forward to continuing to support the City of Edinburgh.”
Councillor Lesley Macinnes, environment convener for the City of Edinburgh council said: “Promoting recycling is so important to help lower the carbon impact created by waste in the city. We’re looking forward to working with Biffa to help people separate their waste correctly to cut down on any contamination occurring leading to waste not being recycled.”
Gate Fees
“Promoting recycling is so important to help lower the carbon impact created by waste in the city.”
Under the contract, Biffa’s chargeable ‘Gate Fee’ will be fixed for the initial year of the contract and Edinburgh said this represents a saving of approximately 10.5% compared to the current standard rate payable. Thereafter, from year two onwards, “Gate Fees will be set by contamination levels determined by analysis of waste composition and will therefore be subject to potential fluctuation (being potentially higher or lower) from time to time”.
The authority said that it is anticipated that the sale of recovered materials which are suitable for recycling will generate income, a proportion of which the council will receive in the form of a rebate from the contractor. All income generated from such recycling will be “subject to market prices prevailing from time to time and will therefore be subject to fluctuation throughout the duration of the contract”.
Edinburgh is also hoping that the contract will contribute to the success of Council Commitment 25 to “increase recycling to 60% from 46% during the lifetime of the administration”.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
