Bidders shortlisted for Isle of Wight waste contract

The Isle of Wight Council (IWC) has shortlisted three bidders to move to the next stage of procuring a contract that will deliver new waste collection and treatment services to the island.

Out of the five contractors invited to submit proposals on how they would collect and process the island’s waste while meeting the ‘strict’ targets set by the council, the three chosen were waste management companies: Biffa, AmeyCespa, and Veolia. 

FCC Environment and a consortium comprising Viridor and Serco were also in the running for the contract, but have since dropped out of the procurement exercise.

Contract details

The new contract, due to start in October 2015, will replace the existing integrated municipal waste contract which has been operated by Island Waste Services (a subsidiary of Biffa) since 1997.

It has an estimated value of ‘between £115 million and £225 million’ over its 15 to 25 year lifespan, and aims to increase recycling whilst minimising the amount of household waste sent for landfill.

IWC has said the contract is ‘likely’ to include a collection service for: residual waste, green waste, food waste, and recyclables. 

In line with the council’s ‘sustainability objectives’, the contract also includes a requirement to operate a ‘reuse and waste minimisation’ service, such as a facility for the reuse through resale of household items. 

Councillor Jon Gilbey, executive member for finance and the PFI contract, said: “At a time when the council is facing increasing financial challenges, it is really important that the new contract is affordable and offers value for the council over the life of the contract.

“In addition, we need to achieve the best recycling rates possible and divert as much waste as possible away from landfill to avoid costly landfill tax.” 

Councillor Luisa Hillard, executive member for sustainability, added: “Our procurement team has been working very hard to make sure that this new contract will be more in-keeping with the council’s aspirations and the Island’s sustainable community strategy.
 
“We are looking for increased community benefit as well as large financial savings to get wide-ranging value for our residents. I am confident that through this new contract we will see increased sustainability for the future of the Isle of Wight.” 

Other proposed actions to enhance sustainability on the island include: supporting the development of the IWC Waste Strategy and other waste strategies to ‘eliminate landfill’; and actively engaging with the whole retail sector to find ways to reduce, reuse and recycle waste packaging.

The next stage of the procurement process will involve the three shortlisted companies developing their proposed solutions in ‘greater detail’ and submitting them ‘later this summer’.

After that, two of the contractors will be selected in the autumn to advance to the final tender phase, with the final successful bidder being selected by August 2015.

Find out more about Isle of Wight sustainability.