£115k bill for ‘no rubbish’
BRIDGEND Council is spending £115,000 a year to dispose of waste that doesn’t exist.
The council is locked into a long-term contract to dispose of nonrecyclable rubbish that charges a fixed price.
BRIDGEND Council is spending £115,000 a year to dispose of waste that doesn’t exist.
The council is locked into a long-term contract to dispose of the borough’s non-recyclable rubbish that charges a fixed price.
It means the council is still paying the same amount despite a massive fall in the amount of waste it is generating thanks to a new recycling system run by private contractor Kier.
Since last June householders have been limited to two rubbish bags per fortnight and have to use multiple differentcoloured sacks and containers for recycling materials such as plastics and glass.
The new approach has resulted in the county borough’s annual recycling rate soaring from 58% in 2016-17 to 68.5% for 2017-18.
But a long-standing contract with Neath Port Talbot Council, which runs a waste processing and incinerator plant in Crymlyn Burrows, means Bridgend is not reaping the benefits of sending far less waste to be processed there.
This is because the disposal contract is based on a fixed-price minimum tonnage of waste rather than the actual tonnage delivered to the facility.
An end-of-year financial report which went before BCBC cabinet members on Tuesday, June 19 showed a £180,000 overspend on waste disposal.
Gill Lewis, the council’s interim head of finance, explains in the report that £115,000 of the overspend is down to the longstanding disposal contract with NPTC. End-of-year accounts for Bridgend Council’s waste collection services also show a £330,000 over spend – this, officers say, is partly down to a drop in the amount of commercial waste and the subsequent reduction in income of £230,000 not generating a corresponding reduction in cost.
Officers also point to a better than expected take up of the council’s new absorbent hygiene products collection service which has meant higher than anticipated costs of almost £200,000.
There is more than 10 years left to run on the contract with NPTC, which runs the Materials Recovery and Energy Centre (MREC), but Bridgend Council is hoping to renegotiate the contract, saving hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Communities director for BCBC Mark Shephard told councillors the current disposal charge levied by the MREC facility is significantly above accepted market rates.
Both councils have agreed to terminate their existing arrangements and to replace them with a new market-tested contract.
A new tender bid by Walters Plant Hire to run the centre is expected to save a combined £1.5m per year for NPTC and BCBC when compared to current costs.
Mr Shephard told councillors the new contractual arrangements will mean the local authority is charged for the amount of waste it sends to the facility rather than paying a fixed price and a level of minimum tonnage.
Cabinet members agreed, subject to an agreement by NPTC and legal notices being followed, that the offer submitted by Walters Plant Hire to run the MREC be accepted.
Cabinet member for social services Phil White said: “I think we have come through as the poor relation in this partnership arrangement and for Bridgend’s interests this has got to be a meaningful equal partnership.”
Council leader Huw David added: “This hasn’t always been an easy relationship but now is the time for a new chapter and we look forward to working very closely together with Neath Port Talbot to make this a much more successful arrangement that will benefit both authorities and ensure we deliver value for taxpayers and make sure our waste is properly disposed of.”