New contracts granted to tackle waste in the West of England
Waste management companies Viridor, Suez and ETM have been granted 10-year contracts by the West of England Partnership to treat the region’s residual and bulky waste.
Under the new contracts, which will begin in March 2020, Viridor and Suez will handle 120,000 tonnes and 50,000 tonnes of kerbside black bag residual waste, respectively. ETM will take 45,500 tonnes of bulky waste mainly from Household Waste Recycling Centres.
The new arrangements have the potential to power more than 120,000 homes from waste that cannot be recycled by other means. Viridor and Suez are both required to divert at least 90% of waste from landfill, while ETM must divert 80% of bulky waste from landfill. The region’s waste is currently sent to a mechanical biological treatment facility operated by Panda in Avonmouth, where it is then exported for incineration in Scandinavia.
Councillor David Wood, cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhoods at Bath and North East Somerset council, said: “It’s terrible in this day and age that we send our rubbish all the way to the continent to be incinerated; with climate change at the top of the agenda we need to be more careful with our carbon footprint.
“Sending so much rubbish to landfill is also the worst possible thing we can do. These changes will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill which is good news for residents of Bath and North East Somerset and great news for the environment.”
The West of England Partnership comprises Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bristol councils. It aims to save £300,000 (€330,800) per year across the four local authorities through the new contracts.
Under the new contracts, which will begin in March 2020, Viridor and Suez will handle 120,000 tonnes and 50,000 tonnes of kerbside black bag residual waste, respectively. ETM will take 45,500 tonnes of bulky waste mainly from Household Waste Recycling Centres.
The new arrangements have the potential to power more than 120,000 homes from waste that cannot be recycled by other means. Viridor and Suez are both required to divert at least 90% of waste from landfill, while ETM must divert 80% of bulky waste from landfill. The region’s waste is currently sent to a mechanical biological treatment facility operated by Panda in Avonmouth, where it is then exported for incineration in Scandinavia.
Councillor David Wood, cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhoods at Bath and North East Somerset council, said: “It’s terrible in this day and age that we send our rubbish all the way to the continent to be incinerated; with climate change at the top of the agenda we need to be more careful with our carbon footprint.
“Sending so much rubbish to landfill is also the worst possible thing we can do. These changes will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill which is good news for residents of Bath and North East Somerset and great news for the environment.”
The West of England Partnership comprises Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bristol councils. It aims to save £300,000 (€330,800) per year across the four local authorities through the new contracts.
