W&S Recycling has won a £27 million seven-year contract from Oxfordshire county council which means that the Dorset-based contractor will continue to run nearly all of the council’s household waste recycling centres.
The authority has also announced it is to put up the cost for depositing bags of “non-household waste which includes soil, rubble and DIY waste” by 50p per bag to £1.50, the first increase for 15 years.
(l-r) Part of W&S current fleet in Oxfordshire which is to be upgraded under the new contract
The new contract takes effect from October when the bag charge increase also comes into force.
Under the award, W&S will manage six out of seven HWRCs, up from five under the former contract. It will also take on the Ardley HWRC site from Viridor. FCC Environment will continue to manage Oxfordshire’s eighth site at Dix Pit although W&S will handle recyclables.
The contract also means that W&S will handle waste electrical and electronic equipment arising at the Oxfordshire sites.
Open
Publicising the contract to residents, Oxfordshire said that the deal would mean that the authority could keep its “entire network of seven Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in the county open in the medium term with no change to opening hours or days they are open due to a new management contract that has been awarded to W&S Recycling.”
On charging, the authority said that residents favoured charges for “non-household” waste over site closures.
Councillor Yvonne Constance, cabinet member for environment said: “Oxfordshire’s residents told us very clearly that their priority was to see all the HWRCs kept open when the new contract started and I am delighted that we have been able to achieve that.
(l-r) Cllr Yvonne Constance, cabinet member for environment with Geoff Thompson of W&S Recycling at one of the county’s HWRCs
“Oxfordshire has one of the best recycling rates in the country which is thanks to the hard work of our residents who collectively make a huge difference to the environment by separating out their household waste and recycling as much as they can.”
Legal
The councillor added: “While the County Council does not have a legal obligation to accept non-household waste at HWRCs, this is a popular and highly valued service among local communities and I am therefore pleased that W&S Recycling is able to continue to offer this service, with only a modest price increase. Overall, I am delighted that our HWRC service remains an accessible, affordable service.”
Geoff Thompson, owner of W&S Recycling, which has held the cotnract since 2009, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract and are looking forward to working closely with Oxfordshire County Council to increase recycling rates at sites and continue to make improvements to the HWRCs which we know residents use regularly and value.”
Low emission
Mr Thompson said the company would be encouraging more residents to pre sort their waste to recycle more and that the company was planning to invest in a new low-emission fleet.
“Many Oxfordshire residents already pre-sort their waste and recyclables before visiting their local HWRC but we will be encouraging more residents to do the same as that will help to boost the county’s excellent recycling rate even further. We also plan to invest in a new low-emission vehicle fleet which will be used to transport materials from all of Oxfordshire’s HWRCs to their end destinations.”
Oxfordshire’s seven Household Waste Recycling Centres accept approximately 50,000 tonnes of household residual waste and recyclables each year with an average recycling rate of around 60%. Residents make over 1.25 million visits to the sites every year.
The post W&S to keep Oxfordshire HWRC contract appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
