News / Politics
Council take over waste amid landfill concern
A new council-owned company will take over waste collection in Bristol after the local authority and contractor Kier mutually agreed to end their £96 million contract.
The decision was made at an extraordinary meeting of George Ferguson’s cabinet on Thursday night which the public and press were barred from attending.
The council announced on Friday morning that the contract would be terminated three years early amid concerns of an 18 per cent rise in waste going to landfill during Bristol’s European Green Capital year.
is needed now More than ever
Ferguson said: “As European Green Capital we have bold aspirations to change the way we think about waste as a city, from waste to a resource.
“We place an increasing emphasis on re-use and recycling and recognise that, after maximising on reuse and recycling, using residual waste as an energy source is better than landfill.
“We believe that the best way we can do that is to exercise more direct control over our vitally important waste collection and street cleaning services.”
He added that successful negotiations meant there will be no “penalty” for terminating the contract early. The council said it could not say whether any money had changed hands during negotiations which were “commercially sensitive”.
The new council-run company, Bristol Waste Company, is expected to take over waste collection on August 1 after vehicles, equipment and facilities are handed over.
In 2012, a year after signing its original contract to reduce waste going to landfill to 50 per cent, Kier, previously May Gurney, admitted it was making a loss on the £14 million a year deal.
Julian Tranter, managing director at Kier Environmental said: “When we acquired May Gurney and took on the delivery of the Bristol contract we recognised the issues being faced by both the client and the operational team, and we believe we have made good progress in improving service delivery.
“In parallel we have been working together to review the long term model of service, to find a beneficial solution for both parties, and this has now concluded in agreement to mutually end the contract, and move service provision to a new council-owned company.”
Daniella Radice, assistant mayor for neighbourhoods, said the council was working to ensure all staff would be kept on at the new company.
Opinion: Read Lib Dem leader Gary Hopkins’ views on the decision.
Photo from Shtterstock