Waste contract proposals involve plans for ‘greener’ vehicles
Poster information
Posted on: Thursday 15 July 2021
Councillors will consider proposals to extend the waste contract in Bridgend County Borough with Kier for two to three years at a scrutiny meeting next week.
The proposed extension is intended to ensure that the county borough can retain an efficient recycling and waste service while plans are finalised for the introduction of a new seven-year contract featuring environmentally friendly ‘green’ powered vehicles.
The current seven-year contract, which began in 2017, made significant changes to the council’s waste management service. This resulted in the county borough’s recycling rate rising from being one of the lowest in Wales to becoming the second highest.
As part of the changes, a two-bag limit for residual waste was introduced and a new collection service for absorbent hygiene products.
With the recycling target for 2019/20 being 64 per cent of all municipal waste, the local authority achieved a recycling level of 67.6 per cent, significantly above the Welsh average of 65.1 per cent.
Where comparative data is available, the local authority’s waste contract has demonstrated value for money and high performance on an all-Wales basis. In the county borough, around eight million vehicle collections take place every year.
The next target set by Welsh Government is 70 per cent in 2024/25 with additional, further targets now being considered for local authorities - Welsh Government remains committed to a ‘Zero Waste Wales’ by 2050.
With the local authority planning to develop an ultra-low emissions waste vehicles sector using electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles and, as yet, unknown Welsh Government future targets, the council is looking to explore the possibility of extending the Kier contract which ends in April 2024 by two or three years.
This will enable additional time for vehicle trials used in waste and recycling collection operations and assessment around the impact of further policy direction and recycling targets, once Welsh Government publishes its guidance for local authorities.
Alternative fuel testing in waste services has already started in Wales and is likely to feed into fleet design over the next five years.
The planned investment in new technology is part of the local authority’s 2030 Decarbonisation Agenda, aimed at reducing carbon emissions throughout the county borough.
Councillors on the Subject Overview and Scrutiny Committee will discuss the proposals at a meeting on Monday 19 July.