Organic Waste Disposal

Concepts

• refuse and waste
• matlock
• household refuse disposal
• biffa waste services limited
• organic waste
• the councils domestic food waste
• organic waste disposal
• the councils waste
• the councils domestic garden waste
• waste

Location

MATLOCK

Description

Derbyshire Dales District Council has awarded the following contracts for the disposal of organic waste collected by Serco Limited, the Councils waste and recycling collection provider: 1) Severn Trent Green Power Ltd for the disposal and processing of 100% of the Councils domestic food waste, approx. 2600 tonnes (1300 tonnes per annum) at their Seven Trent Green Power site in Derby to be processed using Anaerobic Digestion (AD) to produce renewable energy and a nutrient rich fertiliser. 2) Biffa Waste Services Limited for the disposal and processing of approximately 25% of the Council's domestic garden waste, approx. 4500 tonnes (2250 tonnes per annum) at their composting site in Etwall, South Derbyshire, to be processed using In Vessel Composting (IVC) to create compost and soil improvers. The contracts will be for a term of 2 years from 1st March 2024 until 31st March 2026.

Lot Division

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 90500000 - Refuse and waste related services
• 90513100 - Household-refuse disposal services
• 90514000 - Refuse recycling services

Indicators

• Award on basis of price.

Legal Justification

Derbyshire County Council (DCC) is the Waste Disposal Authority (WDA) for the county with responsibility for deciding the disposal of waste collected by Derbyshire's eight Districts and Boroughs in their capacity as Waste Collection Authorities (WCA). DCC currently use In Vessel Composting (IVC) to process organic waste material. The primary advantage of IVC is its ability to accept and treat a comingled feedstock. Recent changes to legislation require all WCAs to provide a free and weekly collection of food waste from the kerbside. Whilst not introducing a strict prohibition on the comingling of food and garden waste, the requirement for collections to be weekly, all year round and free means continuing to comingle both streams would incur significant additional cost for which no new burdens funding would be available. Alternative techniques (anaerobic digestion of food waste and open windrow for garden waste) may offer significant improvements in terms of operating costs and environmental performance however a comprehensive cost benefit analysis is required prior to DCC reaching a final determination. To allow DCC time, for such an assessment to be conducted and for the subsequent procurement and contract mobilisation to take place, Derbyshire Dales District Council needs an interim contract arrangement from 1st March 2024, until 31st March 2026 to enable continuation of organic waste disposal services. Letting contracts of this type for shorter contract periods significantly reduces the attractiveness of the contract to the market. A contract term of one or two years makes it very difficult for prospective bidders to recoup their bid and contract mobilisation costs, which can be significant. There is a limited number of organic waste disposal and processing locations within or near the Derbyshire Dales District border that allow the council to dispose of its organic waste and meet the terms agreed on its waste and recycling collection contract without significant additional costs. Because of the uncertainty regarding the Council's long-term requirements and the need for a short-term solution to maintain current services, competition is absent. Where competition for public service contracts is absent for technical reasons, contracting authorities may use a negotiated procedure without prior publication in accordance with regulation 32 (2) (b) (ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

Other Information

A Voluntary ex ante transparency notice was issued on the 6 February 2024 and a 10 day standstill observed before entering into the contracts.