Local authorities facing crew shortages or in need of help with waste services are to be offered a new matching service through the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM).
Launching week commencing 13 April, the online WasteSupport platform aims to help councils to cope during the COVID-19, coronavirus pandemic by helping to find them private sector help. It comes as many local authorities are dropping services such as green waste collections, some facing difficulties in maintaining other services, and against a background of rising waste volumes and closures of civic amenity sites. The web link for the new platform has not yet been released.
Councils will use the platform to find private sector help for waste and recycling services (picture: Shutterstock)
Some councils, such as Denbighshire in north Wales, have already moved to secure extra help from local firms.
A long list of organisations are supporting the WasteSupport platform which has been developed with the support of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. And, a clause in public procurement regulations is allowing it to operate outside of normal local authority tendering requirements.
Supporters
Those backing the platform include the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT), Environmental Services Association (ESA), Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC), London Waste & Recycling Board (LWARB), United Resource Operators Consortium (UROC) and WRAP.
In a statement, CIWM said that each partner “has contributed insight into the respective needs of local authorities and commercial waste companies and helped to beta-test the platform, which will be refined over time with further user and partner feedback.”
It is explained that: “The new service provides an online sharing forum that will enable local authorities facing resource challenges in maintaining all of their household waste collection services because of COVID-19 to indicate where they need service capacity support, as well as other requirements such as PPE or vehicle maintenance engineers. Commercial waste collection firms with surplus capacity will also be able to use the platform to indicate those services they are able to supply, thereby providing a ‘virtual marketplace’ to facilitate sharing.”
Challenges
Trevor Nicoll, president of CIWM, pictured at his inauguration in November 2019
Trevor Nicoll, CIWM President and head of Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service said: “The coronavirus pandemic has generated contrasting challenges for the public and private waste collection sectors. Local authorities are facing staff shortages as waste operatives are having to self-isolate, either as a precautionary measure or because they are unwell. This may lead to councils having to temporarily change the type or frequency of collection services they offer, as well as place pressure on other waste-related services.
The president continued: “In parallel, many commercial waste companies are finding that their commercial waste collection workload has reduced as many businesses temporarily close and are faced with having to furlough staff. WasteSupport is intended to bridge this gap and support collaborative working that will benefit both the public and private sector in these difficult times.”
Frontline
Executive director of the private sector group ESA, Jacob Hayler, said: “Although the private sector is still delivering on the frontline of council waste services, many operators have additional resources which are now under-utilised, since commercial and industrial business has declined as household waste volumes ramp up during this crisis. These resources could be put to better use serving pressured local authorities, so this platform provides a great match-making tool to bring both halves of this equation together.”
“WRAP is delighted to have played our part in the rapid development of the WasteSupport platform”
Peter Maddox
WRAP UK
WRAP UK Director, Peter Maddox said: “WRAP is delighted to have played our part in the rapid development of the WasteSupport platform. During these unprecedented and uncertain times, it has been extremely heartening to see the willingness of organisations across the public and private waste collection sectors to work together in the public interest. I am proud that WRAP has been able to contribute to that effort.”
London
Wayne Hubbard, chief executive the London Waste and Recycling Board, said: “LWARB is really pleased to be part of this initiative. It’s fantastic that the whole sector is working together and pulling in the same direction to support each other and the country to overcome the challenge of the Covid pandemic. When we come through this crisis, I hope we come out stronger as a sector, with new partnerships and open to new opportunities which will help us tackle the larger threat of climate change.”
UROC
Jenny Watts of UROC said her members were willing to help ‘wherever and however they can’
Jennifer Watts, chief executive of UROC, which represents small and medium sized private sector waste businesses and skip suppliers, said: “We have been inundated with offers from members to help wherever and however they can. The ability for the private sector to respond dynamically and flexibly to waste management needs will be key to making the marketplace a success in connecting the right people in the right places.”
Procurement rules
CIWM said the platform has been developed in line with procurement rules, notably Regulation 32(2)(c) in the Public Contract Regulations 2015, “which allows some easement of normal public procurement rules ‘for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with’. The Government’s recent ‘Procurement Policy Note 01/20: Responding to COVID-19’provides guidance on using this provision.”
Menu of services
The platform is to provide a menu of the key services that local authorities may require, or that commercial waste companies may be able to offer. CIWM said: “The site will only be accessible to local authorities and licenced/permitted operators, and everyone who signs up to use it will have to prove their credentials in order to access the full site. Following sign-up and verification, participants will be able to indicate what services they require or can offer. Entries will be searchable, and the site will send automatic updates to those who sign up, showing them new entries that match their criteria. Where a participant finds a match, they will be able to access contact details, enabling them to initiate discussions with a potential partner privately and confidentially.
“Once the site is live, the platform partners will be sharing the sign-up link across their networks and members and it will also be available on partner websites.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
