GMCA confirms Suez as preferred tenderer

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) can now announce that following a yearlong procurement process to secure new operating contracts for the Greater Manchester waste and resources management services, the preferred tenderer is Suez Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd (Suez) for both Lots 1 and 2.

Lot 1 includes the operation of five residual waste facilities, nine Household Waste Recycling Centres, eight Transfer Loading Stations, the Bolton Thermal Recovery Facility, the Materials Recovery Facility, the obligation to produce refuse derived fuel and associated rail transport and supply to the Runcorn Energy Recovery Facility. Lot 2 includes the operation of eleven standalone Household Waste Recycling Centres that are located on sites separate to the main waste treatment facilities. The decision was made to separate the contract into lots to generate a competitive market response.

There will now be a mobilisation period so the current contractor; Viridor (Greater Manchester) Ltd can hand over the operation of all the facilities to Suez. The new contracts will commence on Saturday 1st June 2019. Existing staff working at the sites will transfer over to the new employer; Suez.

Viridor (Greater Manchester) Ltd will continue to operate waste management services across Greater Manchester until Friday 31st May 2019.

Viridor’s other, separate agreement with the GMCA is unaffected and continues as normal. This is a 25-year contract to process residual waste at the Runcorn Energy Recovery Facility, which has 16 years more to run, with an option to extend for a further 15 years.

The GMCA would like to thank all companies who took part in the procurement of the waste and resources contracts and is looking forward to working with Suez to focus on increasing recycling in Greater Manchester.

Green City Region lead, Cllr Alex Ganotis, said, “We are extremely pleased with the result of the procurement process and are confident that Suez will deliver outstanding recycling and waste treatment services for the residents of Greater Manchester. This is another step towards making Greater Manchester one of the leading green city regions in the UK. The new partnership with Suez will focus on reducing household waste and moving towards a more circular economy”.

Cllr Allison Gwynne, Chair of the GMCA Waste and Recycling Committee, said, “The procurement of the waste and resources management contracts has taken over a year to conclude and a huge commitment from the GMCA waste and resources team and committee members. There are no changes planned to resident’s household waste and recycling collection services, however, residents will see some immediate changes to the Household Waste Recycling Centres and will be able to recycle a wider range of items.”

More details will follow once the new contracts are in place.

Article Published: 25/03/2019 08:58 AM