Council seeks bids for £396m contract

West Sussex County Council has invited bids for a £396m contract to collect, transport, treat and dispose of fuel produced at its Horsham-based waste facility.

The Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant, in Brookhurst Wood, is operated by Biffa West Sussex Ltd and hadthecapacitytoprocessmore than 310,000 tonnes of waste peryear,producingmainlywhat is known as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). Currently, the county council has an arrangement with the West Sus- sex Seneca Britaniacrest Partnership, which sees the waste exported across the continent. That arrangement was due to end in April but has been extended by one year to allow for the tender process to be completed. Companies have until March 27 to bid for the 11-year contract – which could be increased to 16 years – and it is expected to be awarded this summer. Steve Read, the council’s assistant director (environment & public protection), said the contract was ‘a logical and pragmatic step’. He added: “Importantly, these arrangements are designed to ensure it will always be in our interest to reduce the amount of residual waste we process, whether through waste minimisation initiatives, our recycling centre network, kerbside recycling and, in due course, separate food processing.”

The transport of RDF across the continent has been questioned in the past but the award of a new contract will not necessarily bring it to an end. A council spokesman said: “Whether Refuse Derived Fuel is treated in the UK or exported has not been specified by [the council]. This is for bidders to propose as part of any bid returned.”